


Van the Son of Vanitas

by RoxasItsuka



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Disney - All Media Types, Kingdom Hearts, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Chad Charming Being an Asshole, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Discrimination, Fantasy, Heartless Attacks (Kingdom Hearts), Multi, Past Audrey/Ben (Disney: Descendants), Vanitas is a Good Dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22061362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoxasItsuka/pseuds/RoxasItsuka
Summary: When Prince Ben invites five children from the Isle of the Lost over to Auradon he also invites Van, Vanitas' son as part of the group. Reluctant to go, Vanitas persuades his son to do it for the sake of his friends. How will Auradon handle the boy who looks so much like Sora? Follows the canon but deviates. Multicrossover between Disney, MCU, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and Once Upon A Time.
Relationships: Adam/Belle (Disney), Audrey/Chad Charming, Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants), Celia Facilier & Dizzy Tremaine, Celia Facilier & Freddie Facilier, Doug/Evie (Disney: Descendants), Evie & Freddie Facilier & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil, Hadie & Mal (Disney), Jane/Carlos de Vil, Jay/Li Lonnie, Van & Hadie (Disney), Van & Vanitas, Van/Melody (Disney)
Comments: 44
Kudos: 26





	1. Rotten to the Core

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything except OC's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In memory of Cameron Boyce who passed away during the Summer of 2019.
> 
> May you rest in Peace.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything except OC's.

**Mal: Once upon a time, long, long ago.**

**Van: I'd hardly call thirty years long, long ago. But hey, if you want to be my guest.**

**Mal: Belle married her beast in front of six thousand of their closest personal friends.**

**Van: Seriously six thousand?! They only lived in one world and didn't travel that much. How could they have that many friends?**

**Mal: How should I know? Anyway, there was this big cake.**

**Van: Big enough to be the size of a castle.**

**Gabriella: I wonder what it tasted like though.**

**Van: Gabby, what are you doing here?**

**Gabriella: If you guys can do the intro, so can I.**

**Mal: Whatever, we're getting off track. Instead of a honeymoon Beast united all the worlds into on and got himself elected King of the United States of Auradon.**

**Gabriella: No honeymoon! Poor Belle, I hear she loves adventure.**

**Van: Makes you wonder what amount of convincing he had to do to get her to agree.**

**Mal: He rounded up all the villains and the sidekicks, basically all the really interesting people.**

**Gabriella: There are a few interesting people in Auradon you know. Not a lot but some.**

**Van: Yeah, we got one right here. Along with a couple of other friends.**

**Mal: He booted them all off to the Isle of the Lost with a magical barrier to keep them there.**

**Van: This is our hood. No magic, no wi-fi, no way out! Or so we thought.**

**Gabriella: Seriously! Half the kids around here couldn't survive without wi-fi.**

**Van: Then they won't last a day on the Isle. And that isn't a joke.**

**Mal: Hang on your about to meet us, but first this happened.**

**Before**

Prince Benjamin stood in his room, dressed in a blue suit, staring out at the infamous Isle of the Lost. His servant and family friends Lumiere was taking measurements, but Ben paid him little to no attention. He was too preoccupied with the decision he had made.

In his mind, he knew it was dangerous and risky, and he knew there would be an uproar from a select few. But in his heart, he knew he had made the right decision. They were innocent after all. They deserved a chance to live their own lives free and happy.

' _I just hope my parents see it the same way I do,'_ he thought solemnly.

That was his biggest fear about this proclamation, that his parents wouldn't support it. He knew his father would object saying it was too dangerous and would do more harm than good. His mother was more likely to be open to the idea. As a former princess of heart, she could see the best in people.

"How are you going to be crowned king in two months?" his father, King Adam/Beast chimed. "You're just a baby."

"He's turning sixteen, dear," his mother Queen Belle pointed out.

Ben decided to tell them now since he probably wouldn't have the courage to do so later.

"Hey pops," he called out but his father didn't hear.

"Sixteen! That's far too young to be crowned king," Adam exclaimed. "I didn't make a good decision until I was at least forty-two."

"Uh, you decided to marry me at twenty-eight," Belle stated sounding offended.

"Well it was either you or a teapot," Adam joked. His wife did not look amused while Ben couldn't help but laugh a little. "Kidding."

Belle still did not look happy. Oh, he was going to hear about this later.

"Mom, dad," Ben started walking, only to be stopped by Lumiere.

"Aah," he objected.

"I've chosen my first official proclamation," he informed them.

His parents looked at him with a mixture of pride and curiosity. That was going to end in the next minute.

"I've decided that the children of the Isle of the Lost should be given a chance to live here in Auradon!" Ben declared.

His parent's faces fell and Belle accidentally dropped the blanket she was holding. Lumiere looked up awkwardly, unsure whether he should do anything or not.

"Every time I look out to the island I feel like they've been abandoned," Ben admitted.

It was true. Every time he looked out and saw that gloomy island that's all he thought. He mostly thought about the children that lived under the barrier. As for how he knew about them, he had consulted a _very_ reliable source on the Isle who was living there day today.

"The children of our sworn enemies, living among us?" Adam muttered disbelievingly.

"We start out with a few at first, only the ones who need our help most," Ben explained. Belle nodded in understanding. "I've already chosen them."

"Have you?" Adam interrogated.

As much as he loved his son he didn't think he knew what he was getting into. There was a lot of danger that came with this idea.

Sensing the tension Belle stepped forward.

"I gave you a second chance," she defended. Adam stopped moving. "Who are their parents?"

Now had come the most important question.

"Cruella De Vil, Jafar, Evil Queen," Ben listed, though his parents seemed to grow more uncomfortable. The next one was the equivalent of dropping a bomb. "Maleficent…"

Lumiere yelped in terror.

"MALEFICENT!" Adam shouted. "She is the worst villain in the land."

"Dad just hear me out," Ben argued but Adam was having none of it.

"I won't hear of it," Adam declared firmly. "They are guilty of unspeakable crimes. Did you forget what that woman did to your mother and me? Not to mention how she consumed many worlds with darkness?"

"Dad their children are innocent," Ben argued much stronger. "Don't you think they deserve a shot at a normal life? Dad?"

Ben looked at his father with a pleading look. The King turned to his wife who gave him a look that said to trust their son.

"I suppose the children are innocent," he reluctantly agreed.

He turned to walk away, Ben happy that he got his acceptance. Belle came up and fixed his jacket while giving him a proud smile.

"Well done," she congratulated before turning to join her husband.

"Hold on a second," Ben called out and his parents stopped. "There's one other coming. The first four are around my age but this one is twelve so he'll be with the younger students."

Belle was somewhat intrigued. He didn't think it would be someone worse than Maleficent. Though if she were being honest with herself, Master Xehanort was far worse. After all, he had literally tried to kill everyone and remake the worlds in his image and would have succeeded if not for Sora and the others stopping him. Adam was of a similar opinion though he was still anxious.

"His father is Vanitas," Ben declared.

"Vanitas," Adam murmured.

The name sounded familiar but he couldn't think of where he'd heard it. Belle was a different story.

"Vanitas, as in Ventus' dark half?" she asked.

Ben nodded. Adam was concerned now.

"The Boy in the Mask! One of the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness, and the one who commanded the Unversed!" he exclaimed. "You want to invite his son here."

"According to Master Yen Sid Vanitas's son doesn't possess the same ability his father did," Ben quickly defended. "And before you say it, yes I consulted him since he lives on the Isle, along with several others."

His parents were a little but not entirely surprised he had gone to Yen Sid for advice. The former sorcerer and keyblade master may have been old but was still wise. They were surprised when he volunteered to live on the Isle just to be a teacher for the younger generation when they arrived. At first, they were a bit sceptical about the idea of villains having children and were even more surprised when it happened. They had been given reports from the other surprising Isle volunteers. They were still able to come back whenever they wanted but most of the time they were on the Isle.

Ben walked over to his desk drawer and took out a file.

"Here's everything you need to know about them, names, and personalities included," Ben said as he handed it to his parents. "I think you'll be surprised at what's written on page seven."

The royal couple quickly sped through the files, absorbing everything that they read. When they came to the page Ben pointed out their eyes widened in shock.

"Wait, is this from?" Adam started.

"It's his signature," Belle stated. "I recognise it from letters."

Of all the things they expected this was not one of them.

"When will they be arriving?" Belle asked.

"In two weeks. I had to talk it up with Fairy Godmother and she's fine with it. Though she is setting up a new subject called Remedial Goodness 101 for them. It was the only way I could get her to agree since others would likely object," Ben explained. "The invitations are in the process of being sent."

"I see," Adam murmured as he turned to leave. "I hope you know what you're doing Ben because there is a lot of risk involved this."

Belle turned to walk with him, though secretly she was proud.

"I do," Ben replied as gazed out at the Isle.

He was just as surprised as his parents was when he received that signature. It was originally going to be the first four but once he received that recommendation, he knew he had to bring the other boy as well.

And he didn't regret it.

**The Isle of the Lost (Two weeks later)**

Chaos ran rampant on the Isle as eight individuals made their way through it doing whatever they pleased to the Isle and it's in habitants.

These eight individuals were Mal, daughter of Maleficent, Jay, son of Jafar, Evie Mills, daughter of Regina Mills (aka Evil Queen), Carlos De Vil, son of Cruella De Vil, Celia Facilier, daughter of Dr. Facilier, Hadie, son of Hades, Dizzy Tremaine, daughter of Drizella Tremaine, and Van, son of Vanitas.

They ran through the streets spreading mischief and chaos wearing their traditional gear.

**(AN Think their outfits from the first film the entered).**

Van was a miniature Sora, or in this case Vanitas, with black hair with a few brown highlights, and heterochromatic eyes, the left as green, and the right as gold, both with spiral-shaped pupils. He was around the same height as Dizzy and Celia. He wore a black t-shirt, black hoodie with red lines coming from the zipper that goes all around the hoodie, black jeans and red and black sneakers.

Hadie had dark blue hair and piercing light blue eyes. He was the tallest of his group, but only slightly. He wore a black t-shirt with Cerberus on it, a black hoodie with light blue flame patterns, navy fingerless gloves and jeans held together by a skull belt, and black and blue sneakers.

As they all ran through their home, they started singing a song that was quite popular here.

**Insert: Rotten to the Core theme**

Mal was spraying long live evil with an image of her mother on a wall. Both stopped what they were doing and started walking.

Jay climbed down a ladder.

Evie started walking over the table until she cut through the rails.

Carlos came through a window while Van flipped off a balcony onto the ground.

As Carlos took an apple and bit into it only to throw it back to the kid.

The four girls walked together and sang in perfect harmony.

The eight came together and started running through a laundry section knocking down anything in their way.

They ran through the tunnels yelling and causing havoc wherever they came. Dizzy was doing surprisingly well considering she didn't like taking part in evil schemes. Van was just loving the rush from parkouring through his home. The Isle wasn't perfect, but it wasn't the worst despite what others might have said.

Mal sprayed M across laundry. Jay stole a kettle from several islanders. Evie flirted with a guy and twirled him around with his scarf. Carlos jumped through the markets and kicked over some apples, angering the owner.

Van ran through the streets of his own, taking down anyone who dared tried getting in his way, such as flipping over a pirate or forcing the Gaston Twins to collide with each other.

Hadie came to a stand that sold candles. Without warning, he set them all on fire. But what was even more surprising (or to some confusing) was that the flames were blue.

Dizzy ran through several fabrics, hands on her hips wearing heels.

Celia held out her cards toward a person who nervously picked one. They chose the Star, which was a guard that symbolised good fortune.

Once again the eight were together and the girls singing. They were about to be joined by many more.

Next thing they were all freestyle dancing in perfect synchrony.

As the song came to an end, everyone laughed pleased with how things had gone. A baby holding a lollipop on a cart was strolling by when Mal suddenly snatched it out of its hands.

Van rolled his eyes at the antic. He got why she was doing it, but it was still quite annoying. His thoughts were interrupted by the screaming citizens who were running away terrified. Van noticed there were several knuckleheads and scowled at one of his least favourite people had arrived. Mal turned to address the individual she knew all too well.

"Hi, Mom."

Maleficent had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? Van was a character I submitted to someone a long time ago but that story was cancelled. So, I decided make my own story involving him. While this will follow along the timeline of the first movie there will be multiple differences because this is an AU after all.
> 
> If you noticed Rotten to the Core involved lines from the remix. Why I changed Evie's well, her relationship with her parents is quite different than the movie. Her mother is Regina Mills from OUAT, making her Henry's foster sister. Her father, he won't be revealed for a while. The same could be said about Carlos' father and Van's mother. And believe me, they will surprise you.
> 
> This story will involve element from Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Once Upon a Time.
> 
> I don't know if this should be in the crossover section or not but I'm going to leave it here for the time being.


	2. Meeting between parents and the VK's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maleficent reveals her plan to her daughter and friends. Van is less than thrilled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Maleficent had once cursed Princess Aurora to die on her sixteenth, battled against the keyblade wielders, commanded the heartless and captured the Princesses of Heart while ruining all other worlds in darkness. She was one of the most feared and powerful villains that had ever lived. Or so Van had heard. When he looked at her, he found it hard to believe she was anything like others described her as. Instead of being malevolent, commanding, and powerful, Van found her to be loud and obnoxious. Though to be fair, being stripped of her powers and forced to wallow away in her defeat on this island would probably do that to a person.

Maleficent shoved the knuckleheads aside and addressed her daughter.

"Stealing candy Mal?! I'm so disappointed," Maleficent said condescendingly.

' _When aren't you disappointed?'_ Van thought. _'Sometimes I really wonder why Mal even bothers.'_

"It was from a baby," Mal pointed out.

"That's my nasty little girl!" Maleficent praised. She then took the lollypop and spit on it before putting it under her armpit. "Give it back to the dreadful creature."

' _Eeeewwwww!'_ Dizzy, Celia, and Evie all thought at the same time.

Van and Carlos resisted the urge to throw up while Hadie and Jay felt sorry for the child.

' _I get that she's supposed to be mean and all but that's just gross!'_ Celia thought.

Mal was no different. "Mom!"

"It's the deets Mal, that make the difference between mean, and truly evil!" Maleficent replied raising her voice.

' _I'd hardly qualify that as truly evil!'_ Hadie deadpanned.

' _I hope I never reach that point!'_ Dizzy silently prayed.

Each person who had their own opinion about Maleficent's beliefs cleverly kept it to themselves, lest they all incur the wicked fairy's wrath.

"When I was your age I was," Maleficent started.

"Consuming entire worlds in darkness," Mal joined in.

She had heard this all so many times that she knew it off by heart.

"Walk with me!" Maleficent ordered as she placed her hand on Mal's shoulder. "You see I'm just trying to teach you the thing that really counts. How to be me?"

' _Why don't you add "No pressure" while you're at it?'_ Van thought sarcastically. _'You are good at making a situation worse after all.'_

"I know that, and I'll do better," Mal promised. _'Not like I've been trying my whole life.'_

Mal wanted her mother's approval more than anything. Her entire life she had tried to impress her, only to come up short and end up disappointing her. the recent failure involving the Dragon's Eye didn't help either.

"Oh, there's news!" Maleficent announced as her goons started advancing. "I've buried the lead."

Van hadn't given them much notice until now but when he did, he realized there were seven of them in total. And where they moved was behind anyone that wasn't Mal. What Maleficent said next was the equivalent of dropping a bomb.

"You four, and this," Maleficent gestured to Mal and her friends while shooting a disdainful look at Van. The dislike between them was mutual. Van hated Maleficent because of her personality, while she hated him because he resembled her greatest enemy, Sora. "Have been chosen to go to a different school, in Auradon."

No sooner had she said that had the others tried to escape. Maleficent's goons grabbed Van's friends who unsuccessfully tried to escape. Van was a different story. When the goon tried to grab him he quickly elbowed his attacker in the stomach and then in the face. Briefly stunned, Van backflipped and caught his attacker's head between his legs and the dropped to flip the goon on his back right in front of him. He was about to help the others when Mal intervened trying to calm things down.

"WHAT?" she yelled disbelievingly. "I'm not going to some boarding school filled to the brim with prissy pink princesses."

"Not to mention a bunch of stuck-up jerks trying to take advantage of us," Evie added disdainfully. While she knew there were some legitimately good people over there, her parents and grandmother had warned her to be wary of certain individuals who would try and use her.

"Yeah and I don't do uniforms unless it's leather you feel me?" Jay jokingly added.

"I read somewhere that they allow dogs in Auradon," Carlos voiced his opinion. "They're rabid pack animals who eat boys that don't behave."

"WOOF!" Jay barked from behind causing Carlos to jump in fear.

Hadie rolled his eyes. "They're not like that at all Carlos. They're actually pretty loyal companions. Remind me to introduce you to Cerberus sometime and you'll see what I mean."

"NO!" Carlos screamed as he backed away in terror.

There was no way in hell he was going near a dog like Cerberus! Dogs around here were one thing, but the guardian of the Underworld, that was way too much for him. As much as he trusted Hadie, he wasn't willing to risk his life in meeting Cerberus.

Dizzy couldn't believe they didn't want to go to Auradon. She did. All her life she had wanted to live there because of how great it sounded. If she had the chance to go she would jump at it. Admittedly though, she wouldn't want to leave without her friends. They'd always been there for her when she needed them, and she for them.

Celia was thinking about how she could earn a major wad of cash over in Auradon.

Van was more suspicious about what he just heard. Something felt off.

"The people who imprisoned us here, suddenly want us over there. Doesn't that sound suspicious to any of you?" he asked incredulously. "How do we not know they're planning an ambush simply to make an example? We're the kids of villains, their enemies. There's no way they would just invite us to live over there just out of the bloom."

"He's right Mom!" Mal agreed. Van wasn't wrong. Why would the Auradonians want them over there unless they had something planned? "We're not going."

Unfortunately for her, Maleficent didn't share, much less care about, their concerns.

"Oh you're thinking small pumpkin, it's all about world domination!" Maleficent announced dramatically.

Van loudly groaned. He had gotten sick of this.

"Get a new goal old lady!" he snapped. "You didn't succeed before when you had an army of heartless, a team of villains, and an idiot of a sidekick. I don't think you'll succeed now."

Maleficent smirked at him condescendingly. "Don't be so sure. Now come! And just you five!"

Maleficent started walking off with Mal and the others quickly following. Van reluctantly went after them, leaving his concerned friends behind.

**Bargain Castle, Maleficent and Mal's Residence**

The five VK's had gathered at Mal's home where one of their parents was there. Regina Mills clad in her traditional black dress, and her long hair tied in a ponytail, reading a book. Cruella De Vil in her usual black and white get-up standing against the fridge. Jafar in clothes that vaguely resembled the ones he wore when he was the Royal Vizier of Agrabah examining some goods Jay brought over.

Vanitas stood against the wall silently observing the meeting with uninterested (or so it seemed) eyes. He wore a black leather jacket, a red and black striped t-shirt, black trousers and combat boots. Despite it has been twenty years, Vanitas did not look that old. The same could be said for Regina. Vanitas stared at his son's back while Maleficent made her speech.

"You will go, you will find the Fairy Godmother, and you will bring me back her magic wand," Maleficent informed them. "Easy peasy!"

Evie couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Are you kidding me?! How is that easy?" Evie asked incredulously. "That's one of the most powerful magical objects in the world next to the Infinity Stones and the X-Blade. Do you really think they'll just leave it in a place that's easy to grab without any security?"

While Mal was surprised to hear her friend argue with her mother, she couldn't find it in here to disagree. If her mother wanted her to get the wand, she would have to plan it out very carefully. This was the land of heroes, the place where the keyblade wielders, Princesses of Heart, the Avengers, and SHIELD lived. There was no way they weren't going to be monitoring their every move.

Regina was proud her daughter was thinking things through instead of just rushing headfirst with no plan. She was glad that she had stressed Evie to use her intelligence rather than looks to get by in life.

' _If she's going to Auradon she might meet him,'_ Regina realized.

She was, of course, referring to her adoptive son, Henry. After the Isle had been built she had been separated from him and he had been sent to live with Emma and the Charmings. Even after she had tried to change and saved the town, she was still declared a villain and banished here without a second thought. She hadn't seen or heard from him since. He was grown up now and probably married. It saddened Regina deeply, but there was nothing she could do.

"I'm sure you'll work your way around it somehow," Maleficent casually brushed off Evie's complaints.

"What's in it for us?" Mal asked. _'If we risk our lives, we're getting something in return.'_

"Matching thrones. Hers and hers crowns," Maleficent started.

Vanitas scowled in annoyance. "Your daughter meant her and her friends you archaic dragon!"

Maleficent surprisingly didn't glare at him.

"It's all about you and me baby. Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer?" she enquired.

"Well, yeah, I mean, who doesn't," Mal stuttered.

"Then get me the wand, and then you and I can see all that and so much more. With that wand and my sceptre, I will able to bend both good and evil to my will," Maleficent ranted.

At this, Cruella finally turned her direction. "Our will!"

"Our will, our will," Maleficent quickly corrected before turning back and snapping her fingers at Mal. "And if you refuse, you're grounded for the rest of your life missy."

"What! Mom!" Mal protested before her mother cut her off.

The two then engaged in a staring competition with both of their eyes glowing green. Van never really understood how this was possible since the barrier prevented them from using magic, however, he figured they weren't actually using it and instead just focusing what was in their body into one place. The contest ended in Maleficent's victory when Mal looked away.

"Fine, whatever," Mal murmured.

"I win," Maleficent chirped.

As soon as she did the other VK's went over to their respective parents.

"Evie, my beautiful daughter," Regina complimented. "When you're over there, make sure to let them know how smart you are. That way they'll no better than to mess with you."

"Sure thing mom," Evie answered softly.

"Well they're not taking my Carlos I'd miss him too much," Cruella exclaimed.

Van seriously doubted it somehow. With the way Cruella treated him, she was likely unhappy that her servant was leaving.

"Really Mom?!" Carlos responded sounding genuinely surprised.

"Of course," Cruella retorted. "Who would touch up my roots, fluff my furs, and scrape the bunions off my feet."

And just like that Van's suspicions were confirmed. He honestly pitied Carlos for what he lived with.

"Maybe a new school wouldn't be the worst," Carlos muttered softly.

"Carlos, they have dogs in Auradon," his mother warned.

"Oh no, I'm not going!" Carlos exclaimed frantically.

Maleficent groaned. Her patience began to thin as her associates started to annoy her. It was bad enough she had to be in the same room as the two who looked like the wretched key bearer who defeated her alongside his pitiful lackeys, she didn't need or want anything else adding to it.

"Well, Jay isn't going either!" Jafar declared. "I need him to stock the shelves in my store." He pulled his son away. "What did you score?" Jay started revealing all the merchandise he stole. "Oh. Ooh. Ah, a lamp!"

Jafar greedily snatched it from his son and started rubbing it excitedly. Vanitas inwardly groaned. After twenty years, most of these people still annoyed him, some even more than before. However, making friends with individuals like Regina, and his wife made it more bearable. There was also his children, whose birth's filled his heart with a light he never knew possible. Sometimes he wondered what his brother would think of him if he could see him now.

"Dad I already tried," Jay informed him solemnly causing the latter to throw it away.

At this point, Maleficent lost it.

"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU ALL! PEOPLE USED TO COWER AT THE MENTION OF OUR NAMES!" she shouted causing the entire room to shut up. "For twenty years I have searched for a way off of this island. For twenty years they have robbed of us our revenge! Revenge on Emma Swan and her parents!"

Regina didn't say anything. Revenge hadn't been on her mind for a long time, not since her children were born.

"Revenge on Aladdin and his bloated genie!"

"I will," Jafar started.

"Pops," Jay calmed his father down.

"Revenge on every sneaky dalmatian that escaped your clutches!"

"Oh darling, I'm past that. There plenty of animals to skin, but why waste time on them when there is far more exquisite prey like our enemies," Cruella responded softly with a sinister grin.

Carlos flinched at his mother's tone. There were moments when she could go from angry, to downright terrifying. Cruella was fine with killing anything, be it human or animal.

"Exactly!" Maleficent shouted before turning to Vanitas. "Revenge on Ventus and Sora!"

Vanitas grunted. "I'm not interested in revenge you archaic dragon. Unlike you, I moved on with my life. But hey, if you want to, be my guest."

The pair glared at each other. Much like his son, Vanitas did not get along with Maleficent due to her personality, and for her, it was him looking like Sora and being one of the few people who wasn't afraid of her. That said the pair avoided one another as much as possible.

"And I Maleficent, the evillest of them all," the wicked fairy proclaimed.

Vanitas snorted. "Yeah right. I'm pretty sure that Xehanort and Thanos would take those spots since they _**literally**_ tried to kill everyone and remake the universe in their image."

"Well they're no longer alive are they?" Maleficent snapped back. _'Uh, what I wouldn't give to burn him alive.'_

When creating the Isle of the Lost, it was decided, after a long period of decision making and arguing, that Xehanort and Thanos would not be revived to the Isle on account of how dangerous they both were. It was probably one of the smartest decisions Auradon had ever made. If those two had come back, there would have been hell to pay. Despite this, Xehanort's other selves were revived.

Additionally, several other villains were never revived or transferred to the Isle, however, no one knew why.

"As I was saying before being rudely interrupted, I shall have my revenge on Sleeping Beauty, her relentless prince, but most of all, Sora and his pitiful lackeys," Maleficent continued softly. "Villains!"

"Yes," Cruella and Jafar said.

"Our day has come," she declared. "Regina, give her the magic mirror."

Regina took out a small hand mirror and gave it to her daughter who stared at it disbelievingly.

"Why do I need a magic mirror? All I'd need to do is wave my hand at any random one and it will show me what I want," Evie questioned.

"This one held Sidney in it briefly, therefore some of his spirit or power should reside, making it more effective than any mirror," Regina explained.

Evie decided not to question her mother since she more experienced in magic than she was.

"My spellbook, my book, I need my... that book. Oh the safe," Maleficent remembered as she unsuccessfully tried to open a fridge. "Regina help me. I never can figure this thing out."

Mal rolled her eyes at her mother, not being able to do the simplest of things. If the conditions were right she would probably use magic to open it.

Van resisted the urge to openly laugh.

"My spell, come darling come!" Maleficent signalled as she handled a freezing spellbook. "It doesn't work here but it will in Auradon. Remember when we were spreading evil and ruining lives?"

"Like it was yesterday," Regina smirked, though Evie noticed that the smile didn't quite reach her mother's eyes.

"And now, you will be making your own memories," Maleficent said sweetly, before turning sour again. "By doing exactly as I tell you."

Maleficent seemed to think this was all going the way she wanted. That was until Van spoke up.

"Do we get any say in this?" he demanded. "We're the ones that were invited, shouldn't it be our decision to leave and attend this place?"

Maleficent scoffed. "The invitation specifically requested the five of you, meaning all of you have to go. So no, Sora spawn, you don't?"

Van glare at her and readied an insult when Evie interrupted him.

"What invitation?" Evie asked. "When did arrive?"

"Around a week ago," Maleficent shrugged.

"WHAT!" the VK's yelled outraged.

"Mom you've known about this for a week and you didn't tell us! Why?" Mal demanded.

"I was plotting Mal," Maleficent shrugged again. "I don't think I need to remind you that it takes a lot of time and effort. Besides, I told all the parents this morning while you were out and I'm telling you now. And a good thing as well. The carriage arrives in an hour."

That started a stream of protests and yelling between the VK's and their parents, excluding Regina and Vanitas. They weren't surprised especially since they had reacted the same way this morning. They had to pack their kids bags quickly just so they would be ready. Evie's father wasn't happy about her leaving, and it was the same for Van's mother, though Vanitas managed to talk her down.

"You old hag, you don't just tell us an hour before! Not when we've not time to prepare!" Van insulted.

"Watch your tongue Sora Spawn before I rip it out!" Maleficent snapped.

Vanitas, not happy about the comment, stood in front of his son protectively and summoned his keyblade. Funnily enough, while the barrier may have been able to prevent the use of magic, it couldn't stop someone like him from summoning a keyblade. He gave the Mistress of Evil a murderous glare that sent shivers down her spine.

"Threaten my son like that again, and I will end you," Vanitas threatened. "You may have been a powerful sorceress once upon a time, but now you're just a shrivelled old lady with no magic. You may have fought Sora and his friends before, but so have I. Actually, I've taken on multiple keybladewielders by myself. So tell me, do you really want to try your luck against me. Because I promise you here and now, the odds aren't in your favour."

Maleficent glared at him with burning hatred in her eyes. This man might not have been Sora but he infuriated her just as much.

"Van, a word please," Ventus' dark half muttered to his son before walking out.

"Evie, the same," Regina said leading her daughter away.

**With Van and Vanitas**

Vanitas stared down at his son who stared right back.

"Look this is a terrible idea. I'm not even fit to live in Auradon. I'm violent, aggressive, I swear, and with what I'm able to do I'd be dangerous over there. Not to mention I've got friends here that need to be looked after. I can't ask Seraphim or Shin to do it since they're busy with their own training. Others have jobs they need to do. Also, I don't want to leave you and mom," Van listed all the reason why shouldn't (or rather didn't want) go. "So, I think it's best if I stay."

"You're going," Vanitas interrupted firmly.

Van blinked, not sure if he heard his dad correctly. The look Vanitas was giving him was another story.

"What do you mean?" Van exclaimed.

"Hmm, what do I mean?" Vanitas hummed softly while putting his hand to his chin. "Oh, I got it. What I mean is you, physically, move over there, go to school, do homework, take a break on weekends, make friends, and come back to visit on holidays. I think that's how it works over there."

Van glared at his father who shot him an amused look. The sarcasm back there probably didn't help.

"Look Van, I know you don't like the idea, but you should think of the possibilities that come with it," Vanitas pointed out. "Trust me, this will be a good thing for you."

"How?" Van demanded. "How is going to a place where I'll likely be jumped the second I arrive a good thing for me?"

Vanitas didn't respond immediately. Knowing his son, he knew Van wasn't going to be happy about this. Which is why it was necessary to do this.

"You can set a good example," Vanitas suggested. "If you do that then they'll allow other kids to come to Auradon and live a better life. I know you don't want to hear this but, this is not an ideal place for children to live. There isn't much food and even when there is it's rotten, there's no hot water, electricity is bad, the plumbing and toilet system is terrible, and the water isn't entirely sanitary."

"I'm used to that though," Van argued weakly. "I don't mind it."

Vanitas narrowed his eyes at his son. "But your friends do. I know for a fact Dizzy and Celia would love to go to Auradon. And Hadie, he's trying to look after his new brother. Do you really think he wouldn't jump at the chance to provide for him more?"

Van bit his lip. He knew his father was right, but it still made him uneasy. Thinking back on it all there were a few younger VK's who were struggling to get by even now, especially with the older and rougher ones out in about. While Van himself wasn't all that bothered by it, he knew others were.

And with that, he made up his mind.

"Fine, I'll go," Van finally said. "However, what am I supposed to do about Mal and the others? I know for a fact she's going to follow through on her mother's plan, or at least try to."

Vanitas considered this for a moment. "Try and talk them out of it along the way. Evie won't be too hard since Regina wants her to have a good life, Carlos will be the same once you get him away from his mother. Jay and Mal will be a little difficult but give them a bit of time to adapt and they'll abandon the plan."

He made it sound so easy. Van didn't mind though.

"Now, I suggest you get your things and say goodbye to your mom and friends. They'll be wanting to see you before you go," Vanitas announced.

"Got it," Van said depressingly.

And so his adventure began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? I was going to show Regina and Evie's conversation as well, but I decided to leave things as they are.
> 
> As you can see, Maleficent and Vanitas do not get along. He looks like Sora so why would he?
> 
> Evie may have seemed a bit OOC here but that's because she's had a different upbringing from the canon. Also, Cruella is based off her OUAT counterpart, hence her personality.
> 
> Next chapter, you'll see the VK's leaving the Isle and arriving in Auradon. You'll also be introduced to Van's roommate. Please review.


	3. Leaving the Isle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbyes are said between the VK's and their friends. Van receives a chilling prediction from Celia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything

**With Evie and Regina**

As Vanitas led his son to a private space to speak, Regina did the same with her daughter. When they were finally alone Regina turned to address Evie properly.

"Hmm, secluded area, no eyes or ears on us, I'm guessing what you're about to say won't sit well with the supposed Mistress of Evil," Evie assumed.

"Supposed?" Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Comparing how everybody, including you, describes her back then and then comparing her with the one living on the Isle makes it a little difficult to believe," Evie said.

Regina smirked. Considering Evie had been born on the Isle years after she, Maleficent, and several others had been stripped of their powers, it made sense that she would think that.

"Oh it's true alright," Regina confirmed. "However, we're getting off-topic here."

"Right, sorry," Evie apologised. "Please continue."

"About this… task, Maleficent wants you all to do. Don't go through with it," Regina spoke plainly surprising Evie. "While you are attending this school, try and set a good example. If you do that then perhaps it will convince the Auradonians to invite more children from the Isle, like your brother for instance."

"I'm not too sure. Barring Van, the others and I are teenagers, while he is three," Evie pointed out. "That aside, why don't you want me to go through with this? If we had the wand, I could free you all from this place. You would have your magic back and we could get away from all of this. We could all live a better life."

Regina smiled sadly at her daughter. She loved Evie and she loved how she cared for her family, but what she was proposing would only end badly. She knew better than anyone. Villains rarely ended up winning. They had their moments, like Thanos and Zemo, but they usually ended up defeated.

"That's very thoughtful of you sweetheart but you need to trust me on this one. If you try going through with this, you'll likely end up failing. It's what happens to all villains," Regina informed her. "I speak from personal experience."

Evie was about to argue back when Regina quieted her and continued talking.

"Right now, what you have in front of you is a unique opportunity," Regina explained. "One you won't get again I assure you. Instead of using it to steal and follow some ridiculous vengeance quest use it to convince others that having you all over there is a good thing."

Evie contemplated her mother's words. Logically speaking she was right, and it could result in other kids being brought off the Isle. She knew for a fact Dizzy wanted to go to Auradon as they had talked about it many times. On the other hand, Evie didn't exactly feel comfortable just leaving her family behind. That brought up another issue.

"Say I do go, what happens if I meet any of my relatives over there? Or better yet, what happens if I meet _him_?" she hissed.

"I've talked it over with your father, and we both agreed that it would be best if people didn't know who he was. I'm no fool. People over there are going to discriminate against you for being the child of a villain. I can how much worse it will be if they know both parents," Regina explained. "This way you'll avoid a confrontation with his side."

That did not sit well with Evie, though she had to acknowledge the truth in her statement.

"As for your brother, if you meet him over there, try and get along," Regina pleaded.

Evie didn't want to do anything of the sort.

"I will avoid him as much as possible," Evie retorted angrily. "Even after all this time, why do you still call him your son? He betrayed you for a woman who abandoned him at birth." Regina didn't answer, or rather she couldn't. "Look, I won't say anything bad when I'm around him but I will be avoiding him at all costs."

Regina didn't even try to argue back. She knew Evie had never had the highest opinion of Henry, and that probably wouldn't change when she travelled over there.

Why she still considered Henry her son? She raised him since he was an infant. Regardless of what he did or felt about her, that wouldn't change.

"What about Mal? I know she's going to go through with this plan since she wants her mom's respect more than anything," Evie said.

Regina thought about it for a moment. "It might not happen at first, but perhaps you can slowly convince her to change her mind. Along the way try and convince the others. Carlos shouldn't be too difficult since his mother won't be around. Jay will take a bit of time but once that boy finds something he likes he'll stick with it. Vanitas is telling Van the same thing, so you'll have some help."

Evie sighed as she knew what was coming.

"It will be difficult at first but you'll manage somehow," her mother assured her.

"I know. In that case, I'd better head home quickly to get my stuff. Dad will through a fit if I leave without saying goodbye," Evie admitted softly.

The two women laughed and then left.

**An hour later**

A black limousine had arrived on the Isle to pick up the five VK's who stood outside waiting. Van was conversing with his friends because he wanted to spend as much time with them before having to leave. He'd already said goodbye to his mother. It was quite tearful, at least for her, she was crying the entire time and promised that she would see him soon.

"So you're really going?" Dizzy asked sadly.

Van nodded. "Dad thinks I should set an example and get other kids to come over. So, as much as I don't to, I'm gonna try. However, if I'm convincing people I'm getting you three off first."

Dizzy thought it was sweet Van was thinking of their wellbeing. Hadie was a little more reluctant.

"I'm too sure about this Van," the bluenette admitted. "I'm busy looking after Hayden when dad isn't around, especially since I don't trust Pain or Panic to be alone with them."

His father's minions tended to get into arguments about the pettiest of things and then get distracted instead of looking after his baby brother. Hayden was only a month old, and while he was not actively moving around, he still needed to be looked after properly. Hence why the idea of leaving the Isle made him uncomfortable.

"Maybe you can move back and forth between the Isle," Dizzy suggested. "Can you Van?"

"I have no idea!" he answered bluntly. "I don't know anything about how this works. I can ask though."

His three friends stared at him surprised.

"Gees, they should have added details to that invitation," Celia complained. "And they should have sent earlier. Not the day you're leaving."

"Actually, they sent it a week ago. Maleficent, that draconic bitch, kept it for a week and didn't bother to tell anyone, not even our parents, because apparently, she was plotting which quote, "takes a lot of time and effort"," Van said with venom. "Like hell it does! I bet she was just waiting for the right moment when we couldn't refuse."

"Would you really put it past her?" Celia said sarcastically.

Van's answer was silence.

Hadie internally groaned. He knew his mother was capable of such tactics, even if they didn't interact that much. His dad told him about what she was capable of and how she made others fear her, yet strangely enough, he had never experienced any of these things. He knew she was plotting something, and he knew his sister was going to be in charge of it. Mal wanted nothing more than to make mom proud, to prove she was worthy of her birth name.

He really did sympathise with her though. Despite their parents split, the two of them had always remained close. Each having each other's backs when they needed it. It was Mal who advised him to form a gang of his own, made up of people he trusted, to better survive on the Isle. And after today he was going to miss her along with Van.

"Want me to do you a reading?" Celia asked her friend.

"Sure, why not?" Van said. "Hold on I think I got some"

"It's alright Van," Celia assured him. "Given that this is important I'll do you a free one."

The moment she said that Van turned pale. Hadie and Dizzy stared at her wide-eyed. In the entire course of the time they had known her, Celia never gave readings for free.

"Stop giving me those looks. It's annoying," Celia snapped. "I don't normally do this, or ever, but like I said. Important event. And you are a friend Van."

Van thought about it for over a minute. He didn't really believe the whole reading the future business, on the other hand, he didn't want to offend Celia. He didn't know what made him more nervous, leaving the Isle, or Celia doing this for free.

"Fine, let's do it," Van said begrudgingly.

"Perfect!" Celia exclaimed as she lead him over to the limo. Since she didn't have a table she had to use this instead. Noticing the driver watching them Celia held up her cards and pointed to the limo trunk. "Excuse me. May I?"

The driver blinked, surprised at her politeness. "Um, sure."

When Van walked up the driver's eyes widened. He looked just like.

"Alright, pick three," Celia ordered as she laid the cards out.

Van did just that and chose three random ones.

"These three, in the order you chose them represent your past, present, and future," Celia explained. "The first one 'The Tower' means you came from a difficult past. You were trapped and in danger."

"It's probably referring to the Isle of the Lost. I was born here and have always been trapped, though I never really felt that way. I've always been in danger. People attack me for different reasons, and I fight them off. I train with others like Sephiroth and Terra, and my dad's training was pretty tough also," Van explained.

While he hadn't always liked it, he was grateful for the skills he'd learned.

"Dangerous indeed. The second card, the present, is 'The Moon'," Celia continued. "This means you are afraid. You are scared of facing the unknown and you fear what lies at the end."

Van didn't answer this time. He just stared at the ground. That was a surprisingly accurate reading. Truth be told he was scared of leaving the Isle and travelling to Auradon. While most wouldn't think the Isle was anything special, to Van it was his home. He lived here his entire life, never knowing anything else. Sure he had, like most kids, looked out at Auradon once or twice and wondered what life was like over there but was otherwise content. He knew the Isle, he didn't know Auradon. And now that he was heading there, to unknown territory, it frightened him because he didn't know what to expect.

"Van," Dizzy murmured concerned.

Sensing his discomfort, Celia immediately moved onto the last card.

"The third and final card, the future is 'Judgement'," Celia said. "This represents the change you will undergo. This journey you embark on will, for better or worse, change you and the way you see the world, forever."

That sounded… ominous.

"Change how?" he asked.

Celia just shrugged. "I don't know. The cards are for predicting what will happen. They don't explain how you will reach it, just that you will."

Van scowled. This was why he didn't usually ask to have his future told. One, it told you what your future was but not how it happened. Two, that future usually ended up coming true, even if you didn't want it to. And three, it costs money (this time excluded).

"Whatever, it is thanks Celia," Van said. "Now I know to be on my guard."

"Sure thing," Celia smiled. "Next one is gonna cost money though."

"Of course," Van deadpanned.

Van wasn't normally one for hugs, but he didn't object when Dizzy pulled him into one.

"Good luck!" she whispered. "I'll miss you. We'll all miss you."

Hadie nodded and Celia smirked.

"Thanks," Van replied.

He really was going to miss them. He was going to miss hanging out, causing chaos, and protecting them from guys like the Gaston twins. He was going to miss everything.

Nothing more needed to be said between them as Van's father came into view and the others stepped back.

"You have everything you need?" Vanitas asked.

Van nodded silently.

"Just to be clear, I still don't want to do this," he said.

"I know," Vanitas replied softly. "I don't want to you go either. But you have to Van. It's for the greater good."

Van didn't answer. He just stared at the ground solemnly.

"Do you trust them?" Vanitas frowned. "Auradon I mean. Do you trust them?"

"Some of them," Vanitas admitted. "Albeit not many."

Van continued to stare at the ground.

"I don't. Not after... _the Incident_ ," Van finally said.

There was a tense silence that followed. Vanitas' expression was emotionless but it was clear what he was thinking. Van's friends all looked towards the ground with pained expressions. Dizzy barely managed to hold back her tears. The other Isle residents present looked away with solemn expressions.

It was an unspoken rule on the Isle to never speak of the Incident. That memory brought so much pain, they avoided the subject until the anniversary.

"I understand," Vanitas replied softly, his voice filled with a hint of sadness. "I don't blame you for thinking that way, and I won't try and change it. When you're over there, you may come to trust some of them and you may not." Van seriously doubted it. "When you're there, I'm sure _she_ will be watching over you."

Van stood there motionless. He wished his father hadn't brought _her_ up. It was bad enough his own existence was a reminder every day, he didn't need to be reminded from his dad.

"By the way, you forgot something," Vanitas said taking something out of his pocket.

It was a star-shaped ornament made with black stained glass with silver frames and had brown stitches and a brown chord to a topmost piece, with the Mark of Mastery symbol as the token. Van's eyes widened in shock. He had been too quick to notice it wasn't with him.

"My Wayfinder," he murmured. "Thanks. I didn't even think."

And just like that, the tension from before vanished.

Vanitas smirked. "No problem. I have a feeling you'll need it. With every new connection, your heart forms this will tie it all together, whether it's on the Isle or in Auradon."

As soon as he took his good luck charm, Van hugged his father tightly who reciprocated.

"Bye dad," he said.

"Bye son," Vanitas replied as Van separated and moved towards the limo.

"Oh hey if I meet my relatives over there?" Van asked quickly.

Vanitas burst out laughing. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. your uncle is a surprisingly nice guy. I don't think he'll give you any trouble."

Van didn't argue as he continued only to stop as he noticed Carlos running trying to get away from his mother. Vanitas, wanting to help the poor boy, stuck his foot out and tripped Cruella who landed flat on her face. Van started laughing as Carlos dived into the limo, with him following, and then Evie and Jay.

"Sorry, my foot slipped," Vanitas said without a hint of regret.

Mal was the last to enter the limo. She glanced up at her mother who made eye contact with her and made a gesture to remind her what her mission was, or rather what would happen if she failed. She turned away and briefly made eye contact with her brother who appeared saddened at her leaving.

She gave him a small smile before disappearing into the limo.

"Bring home the gold," Jafar called out.

"Bring home a puppy," Cruella added.

The limo started moving and they were off.

Meanwhile, a figure watched the five leave from the streets with a hood up.

"So, it begins," was he said before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? The VK's are off to Auradon and now things can really swing into motion.
> 
> As you saw in this chapter, Maleficent is Hadie's mother. I thought it would be simpler than Hades being with another woman.
> 
> Van had an emotional goodbye with his father and his friends. Now he's venturing into unknown territory where many things, both good and bad, await him.
> 
> Next chapter features the VK's arriving in Auradon. Please review.


	4. Arriving in Auradon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The VK's arrive in Auradon where they are given a mixed welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than OC's

Van didn't know what to expect when he entered the limo, but it certainly wasn't this. The seats were comfy, and shelves were lined with colorful foods that Van had never seen before. He wasn't sure whether or not to try it since he still didn't trust the Auradonians. Nothing in this world was free after all, at least not to him.

The others weren't as bothered. Jay and Carlos happily began digging into the mini feast before them. Van wasn't entirely surprised considering their personalities, as well as the food shortage on the Isle.

Evie took out a hairbrush and started straightening her hair for when they arrived. She started doing the same for Mal who quickly objected.

"Hey, I'm plotting," Mal protested.

"Well, it's not very attractive," Evie countered. "One should always look their best when meeting new people for the first time. First impressions are important after all."

"I honestly couldn't care less about what people think of me," Mal replied in a deadbeat tone. She noticed Evie was still looking at her holding up the brush and relented. "But if you must, I won't stop you. Just don't mess it up."

Mal turned while Evie brushed. Van couldn't help but notice how red Evie's eyes were. If he had to guess, she and her family had an emotional send-off, not that he was surprised. His and Evie's dad, alongside Sephiroth, were best friends. They were good friends with a few other Isle residents but those three were quite close.

"Oh these, it's salty like nuts but sweet like nuts but it's sweet like in don't know," Carlos explained.

"Let me see," Jay said as he looked in Carlos' mouth. "Ew!" He then took the other half of the food.

Van barely resisted the urge to throw up. While Carlos was no doubt a genius, like his father and brother, but there were times when he and Jay could really act like idiots. This being one of them.

' _Salty and sweet huh, that kind of sounds like Sea Salt ice cream,'_ Van realized. _'Dad said that's what it tastes like. I wonder if Auradon has it. Or maybe Twilight Town still sells it.'_

While Van wasn't that much interested in Auradon itself, growing up he was interested in his parent's stories about their lives before the Isle and what they did. His father told him about this ice cream he came across in Twilight Town when he wasn't on orders from Xehanort. He described it as salty and sweet and literally one of the best things he had ever tasted. He would sit on this large clock tower where the train station was and eat it while looking out at the sunset.

Though he had never said it, Van did want to try it out himself despite knowing it was impossible.

' _I wonder if we'll even be allowed to leave the premises while we're here. Most kids probably leave on weekends to spend time with their families, and I doubt we'll be doing that,'_ Van thought as he stared out the window. _'That reminds me, how did this guy get here? There's no bridge.'_

Van looked out the window to see where they were and recognized it as the edge of the Isle. There was no bridge that was true, but there was a broken section of one that faced out to Auradon.

"Uh, guys," Van called out only to be promptly ignored.

Jay and Carlos continued to bicker while Evie brushed Mal's hair. As they neared the edge of the Isle, Van started to worry.

"Guys," Van called out louder, only to be ignored again much to his fury. "GUYS! WILL STOP ACTING LIKE IDIOTS AND LOOK OUTSIDE! WE'RE ABOUT TO FALL OFF THE EDGE!"

His outburst caught them off guard as they glanced outside. The second they did they started to panic, believing it was a trap. Van couldn't believe he had been so stupid to go through with this.

However, Van's worries briefly disappeared when he noticed that the limo was covered in light as it crossed over a gold bridge that constructed itself out of nothing as they drove along.

"It must be magic," Evie exclaimed.

"Way to scare us Van," Jay said.

"Hey, there was no bridge! What was I supposed to think?" Van snapped.

A warning from the driver would have been good. Still, it seemed those from Auradon didn't want them dead, at least not yet. Although he probably should've realized they wouldn't be willing to sacrifice one of their own trying to kill five kids.

"Hey! Did this little button open up the magic barrier?" Mal questioned the driver.

"Nope. This one opens up the magic barrier," the driver said holding up a gold remote. "That one opens my garage. And this button."

The driver pressed a button on the roof, causing the window between them to go up. Instead of being offended, Mal smirked at the man's rudeness.

"Okay. Nasty. I like that guy," she admitted before several of them started clutching their stomachs as a strange sensation took over.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was magic. Having lived their entire lives behind the barrier the teens were suddenly introduced to a world where it freely roamed. The whole thing was quite nauseating, especially for someone like Mal who was part Fae and God. It was a miracle she hadn't gotten sick.

Van was a different story. While he was unused to magic like the others, he was also not used to traveling by car, or any vehicle. The vibrations were making him woozy and he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it. Carlos was the first to notice his discomfort.

"Van are you alright?" he said in a concerned voice.

Van gazed at him weakly. "No. I don't know what's wrong with me. Being in this thing, moving in it. It's making me."

Carlos didn't need to hear anymore as he called the driver who quickly pulled over. Van wasted no time in getting out of the car. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled and exhaled until he was feeling fine. While doing this he took a moment to compare the air here and, on the Isle, and noted how much fresher and clear it smelt while on the Isle it was bad and polluted.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. "I don't know why that happened. I was fine before."

"It was motion sickness," the driver said plainly.

Van blinked confused. "Motion what now?"

This time it was the driver's turn to be confused.

"Motion sickness," he repeated. "Where you start feeling dizzy while traveling on a car or," He stopped suddenly remembering where Van was from. "Which you never would have experienced before."

Van shook his head. "No. The only one of us who has is Carlos, and that's because his mother sometimes made him drive her around in her car."

The driver was a little stunned. While he didn't actually know Carlos, he knew he couldn't have been older than fifteen. Most people didn't learn until they were older because it was the law. The kid didn't even have a license.

"How much farther until we reach this school?" Van asked.

"Less than ten minutes," he answered. "Can you survive until then?"

"I'll try," Van replied.

That was really all he could do. The driver didn't question it as they both got back in the car. As they drove the driver still couldn't get one thing out of his head.

' _Why does that boy look like Sora?'_

**Auradon Prep Entrance**

Ben stood at the entrance waiting patiently for the new students to arrive. In attendance were the headmistress Fairy Godmother, his 'girlfriend' Audrey, and the marching band.

He couldn't wait to welcome the kids from the Isle. It had taken a little while for everyone to get used to the idea, and while most still weren't comfortable, they were otherwise content. His father still didn't like the idea, believing it would only lead to bad things happening, but Ben was determined to see it through. Other royals like Queen Leah had ranted about how this would lead to Auradon's destruction and that he was making a huge mistake. Audrey was against it also, using every chance and method she could to convince him this was a bad idea. She had been especially outraged and horrified when she learned the daughter of Maleficent was coming to Auradon, and, well, let's just say she wasn't finished letting him hear the end of it.

The limo came into view and the marching band started playing with other students cheering in an attempt to look welcoming. Ben rubbed his hands nervously hoping to make a good first impression. He did not want things to go wrong, not now.

Meanwhile inside the limo.

"Guys, we're here," Evie announced before grabbing a tissue. "Carlos wipe your face. You've got chocolate all over it."

He did just that as Jay took some stuff with him. He had his hands on the tray when Van reached out and grabbed his wrist tightly.

"Leave it!" he snarled. "Just this once leave things as they are! I want to make a good first impression and stealing things right off the bat isn't the best way to do that! So, for once, just once in your life. Don't. Steal. Anything!"

The death glare Van was giving Jay was much like the one Vanitas gave on the Isle when someone irritated him a certain way. Reluctantly, very reluctantly, Jay let go of the stuff he took.

The driver opened the door for them, and they got out one by one. Van was the first to step out, and the moment he did, the entire student body, Ben, Audrey, and Fairy Godmother, greeted them with complete silence. They stared at Van with shocked eyes, and their bodies frozen stiff.

' _What the hell!'_ Audrey thought.

' _He… he looks just like,'_ Fairy Godmother realized.

' _Vanitas is Ventus' dark half so I expected him to resemble Ventus. Then again, Roxas looks like Ventus even though he's Sora's Nobody so this kind of makes sense,'_ Ben thought surprised.

The silent stares did not go unnoticed. The Core Four could immediately tell that their attention was focused on Van because of the way they were facing.

Van was aware of it too, and it made him uncomfortable. He'd only been here five seconds and already they were scared of him. He wasn't that intimidating when he wasn't angry.

After about a minute of staring, Van got sick of it and spoke.

"Okay, what the hell is wrong with you people?!" he demanded.

That seemed to break a few people about of their shock.

"W-What?" Ben stammered.

Van groaned. "Are you deaf or something? I said what the hell is wrong with you people?! We've been here for barely two minutes, and already you're staring at us like we committed murder. If you have a got problem, like second thoughts, just say it and get it over with!"

Realizing what Van was talking about Ben quickly stepped forward to correct the misunderstanding.

"Sorry about that," Ben apologized. "People are a little surprised by your appearance. You look an awful lot like Sora."

That only served to confuse Van even more.

"So what? Isn't that expected? My father's Vanitas," Van said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

His statement, while meant to explain everything, only served to confuse people even more. If he was saying it was because of his father, did that mean Vanitas also resembled Sora?

"Welcome to Auradon Prep!" Fairy Godmother finally spoke up. "I'm Fairy Godmother, the headmistress."

"The Fairy Godmother," Mal perked up. She waved her hand around as if she was holding a wand. "As in bibbidi-bobbidi-boo?"

"Bibbidi-bobbidi you know it," she responded cheerfully.

"Yeah. You know I always wondered what it was like for Cinderella when you just appeared out of nowhere with that sparkly wand and that warm smile and that sparkling wand," Mal complimented.

Fairy Godmother seemed pleased to hear that.

' _Oh for the love of Kingdom Hearts, Mal could anymore obvious?'_ Van internally raged.

Before anyone noticed he dampened the subject. "Until she was attacked by two Unversed in the same night. A Composer at the ball which Terra defeated and later a more sinister version of her carriage summoned by Lady Tremaine then defeated by Aqua. So, yeah. Tough night all things considered."

The others gave him a look which he promptly ignored.

"That was a long time ago," Fairy Godmother assured. "And as I always say, don't focus on the past or else you'll miss the future."

' _Unfortunately, most people don't think that way,'_ Van thought sad. ' _Like a certain archaic dragon.'_

"It's so good to finally meet you all," Ben said stepping forward. "I'm Ben."

"Prince Benjamin!" Audrey chirped. "Soon to be King!"

Van eyed Ben with interest. So this was Belle and Beast's son, Auradons prince. He couldn't have been much older than Mal, yet he was still set to be King. That had to be tough.

"This is Audrey," Ben informed them.

"Princess Audrey," she said putting emphasis on 'Princess'. "His girlfriend. Right, Bennyboo?"

The five VK's all felt pity towards Ben.

' _Bennyboo! Damn, I feel sorry for him!'_ Van thought.

Evie was the first to pick up on how uncomfortable Ben was with the name and the way he reacted towards Audrey's behavior. She wondered if this was normal, and if so, why didn't he just break up with her?

"Ben and Audrey are going to show you all around," the headmistress informed them. "And I'll see you all tomorrow. The doors of wisdom are never shut."

"Could they ever be?" Evie joked to which the headmistress laughed.

"No. Although the library hours are from eight to eleven and as you may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews," Fairy Godmother said without missing a beat.

Once again, Van internally groaned. That meant they couldn't go out at night.

The headmistress didn't bother explaining anymore as she left the new arrivals with the Crown Prince and the Princess. With her departure, the marching band and students returned to their daily routines. Ben stepped forward again to give a proper greeting.

"It is so, so, so good to finally me… meet you all," he greeted as he attempted to shake Jay's hand only to be met with a light shoulder punch. Shaking Mal's hand the two locked eyes briefly, lost in each other's gaze. "This a momentous occasion, and one that I will hope goes in history. As the day our two peoples began to heal."

"Or the day you showed five people where the bathrooms are," Mal jokingly interrupted, making Ben laugh.

"A little bit over the top?" he asked.

"A little more than a little bit," Mal replied with a smirk.

"Well, so much for my first impression," Ben lamented.

Van honestly believed it could have been much worse. He didn't know how or why he just did.

"Hey, you're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you?" Audrey cheerfully interrupted. "Yeah, you know what, I totally do not blame you for trying to kill my parents and stuff."

Van glared at the princess. He knew a false act when he saw one, and she wasn't even trying to hide it.

"Oh, my mom's Aurora," Audrey said. "Sleeping."

"Beauty!" Mal finished with a fake smile. "Yeah, I've heard the name. not as much as I've heard Sora or Xehanort, but yeah I've heard it." Aurora was but one of her mother's victims. While she did hate her, she hated Sora and Xehanort far more. "You know and I totally do not blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in Enchanted Dominion, but my mother, to their stupid christening."

' _This isn't going to end well,'_ Jay decided.

Ben internally sighed at his girlfriend's behavior. He had hoped she would be mature enough not to bring up past events with Maleficent's daughter. Audrey didn't seem to understand that Mal had done nothing wrong. While he could understand her reasoning behind it, he still didn't agree with it.

"Water under the bridge," Audrey chirped.

"Totes," Mal chirped back.

The fake laughter between the two of them only served to skyrocket the awkwardness of the situation.

"I believe we were promised a tour of the campus," Evie piped up. "May we get started? It's been a long day so far, and we'd like to settle into our dorms as soon as possible."

"Yes, please, come this way," Ben exclaimed jumping at the opportunity to diffuse the tension.

The teens, and preteen, walked through the gardens as Ben began to explain the school's history.

"Auradon Prep was originally built three hundred years ago and it was converted into a boarding school by father when he became King," Ben clapped his hands at a statue of his father which transformed into a beast. Carlos screamed and jumped into Jay's arms. "Carlos, it's okay. My father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man, to remind us that anything is possible."

"Does he shed much?" Mal asked.

"Yeah mom won't let him on the couch," Ben answered seriously.

Van started laughing. So far he was really liking Ben. He seemed like a good guy, and with a decent sense of humor.

The group continued on through the school, seeing where the classes, the cafeteria, the science labs, the computer room, the sports field, and the library are. Finally, they came back to the entrance.

"So, you guys have a lot of magic here in Auradon? Like wands and things like that?" Mal questioned.

' _Seriously Mal, why don't you just ask him for the wand while you're at it,'_ Van wanted to scream at her.

She was being way too obvious and was going to get them caught and sent back. While he did not like it here, Van was going to go through with his mission because his dad trusted him, and because he promised his friends.

Fortunately for him, Ben didn't pick up on it.

"Yeah, it exists of course, but it's pretty much retired. Most of us here are just ordinary mortals," Ben explained.

"Who happen to be Kings and Queens," Mal added.

"That's true," Audrey interjected wrapping Ben's arm around her shoulder. "Our royal blood goes back hundreds of years."

"That's not exactly true," Evie pointed out.

Everyone turned to look at her with intrigued (or in Audrey's case annoyed) expressions.

"Not every King or Queen was born a royal. My grandmother Cora was born a peasant until she learned magic and married into royal life," Evie explained. "There are a number of Auradon Royals who weren't into royalty either. Tiana, Aladdin, Kristoff, Eugene Fitzherbert, Cinderella, and even Queen Belle."

The others looked impressed at her knowledge, Ben especially. Even Audrey was surprised.

"That's true Evie, although, King Eugene was revealed to come from a Royal Family in the Dark Kingdom it wasn't until much later in his life that he discovered the truth. However, that's good insight nonetheless, my mother would be impressed," Ben complimented.

"Thank you, Prince Ben," she replied. "Growing up, my parents stressed knowledge and academics because they believed it would get me further in life. And I believe they were right."

"Please, just call me Ben," he requested. "Prince sounds so formal. Especially since we all go to the same school now."

That didn't sit well with Audrey.

"They should call you Prince as a sign of respect," she argued. "You're going the King soon, so they'll need to address you properly." She then turned her attention to Evie. "And you, while your family may have been Royals in the past, here the Evil Queen and the Queen of Hearts have no royal status, and neither do you."

Van glared at Audrey. How dare she speak to Evie that way! She didn't do anything wrong. For someone who was supposed to be the daughter of a Princess of Heart, she certainly didn't act like it. No, she acted more like a spoilt jealous brat who didn't want her prince to get close to the so-called villains.

Evie picked up on it as well, and she wasn't going to take it quietly. Just because she'd agreed to set a good example did not mean she was going to back down when insulted.

"Regina and Cora Mills," Evie said softly. Audrey blinked not quite understanding. "Those women you were just referring to are called Regina and Cora Mills. "Evil Queen", "Queen of Hearts", they haven't used those titles in years, and neither has anyone else on the Isle." It was then Evie's gaze and voice turned ice cold. "And I never referred to myself as a royal. When the barrier was brought up and everyone was banished there they were stripped of many things, their magic, their possessions, and their dignity. Considering Auradon was so determined to teach them a lesson, I figured that they must have stripped all royals on the Isle of their status for their past actions. Perhaps you should be a bit more observant Princess Audrey because unless someone claims to be something there should be no reason to challenge it. Which brings me to Ben here. If he wants us to call him by his name and nothing else then we will, until he says otherwise. Is that understood, Princess?"

Everyone but Mal and Van stared at Evie wide-eyed. While it was rare, Evie could extremely cold and ruthless when she wanted to be.

For Van, it took all his willpower not to laugh at Audrey. The girl looked like she had been slapped in the face. Before Audrey could retort, Ben called out someone.

"Doug," Ben called out. "Doug come down."

Van looked up and saw a boy in a marching band outfit and holding a clipboard.

"This is Doug. He's gonna help you with your class schedules and show you the rest of the dorms," Ben informed them. "I'll see you later okay. And if there is anything you need feel free to."

"Ask Doug," Audrey rudely interrupted.

The princess escorted her prince away as far and quickly as possible.

"Ugh they are so rude," Audrey complained. "Especially the Evil Queens daughter. I mean who does she think she is. I told you this was a bad idea."

"Audrey," he addressed rather sternly. "You were rude to them first, and without good reason. Evie just explained something already true, nothing more. You didn't have to jump at her because I said they didn't have to call me prince. And let's talk about Mal. Why did you bring up her mother's past? That was completely unnecessary."

Audrey huffed in annoyance. "I just wanted to make sure they didn't get the wrong idea about anything. And they should call you 'Prince', it's your title after all."

"Others," Ben started.

"Others are either family or friends, which they aren't," she countered. "They're only going to cause you trouble Bennyboo, you'll see."

It was a credit that Ben didn't scowl at that moment. He really hated that nickname, along with Bennybear. When they were kids Audrey was a much nicer person, but as they started to grow up, she became vainer and clingier. She became so invested in her looks that she looked down on others for being less pretty than she was. Ben had wanted to end their relationship for some time now because he felt she never took him seriously and was more focused on herself, but he never found the courage to.

' _That girl I've been dreaming about, could it have been Mal?'_ Ben wondered.

Recently Ben had been having these strange dreams about a certain girl. In his dreams, he was in an area with no plants, ruined buildings, and dirty streets. The residents wore clothes, unlike anything he had ever seen. What's more, they were angry, more like bitter, at their conditions. Usually, he wounded up in some sort of trouble only to be later saved by this beautiful girl with purple hair. Though he couldn't say for sure, he was positive he had been on the Isle of the Lost, and Mal was the girl that saved him.

His thoughts were interrupted by Audrey.

"And what's up with that kid? Why does he look like Sora?"

"I don't know," Ben lied. _'Though I have a pretty good idea.'_

**Back with the VK's**

"Hi guys," he greeted. "I'm Dopeys son. As in Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy…", His attention became focused on Evie as his heart stopped. "Heigh-Ho!"

' _Looks like Evie's got an admirer,'_ Carlos thought.

He did feel slightly sorry for Doug though. There had been many boys on the Isle that tried to win Evie's heart only for them to fail. In her own words, none of them were her type.

"Evie Mills. Regina Mills daughter," she greeted with a smile.

Doug was obviously quite flustered at being in close proximity to a girl like Evie.

' _She's so pretty,'_ he blushed. _'Prettier than Audrey. I wonder if she, wait no, that's not likely to happen. Why would someone like her want to be with someone like me?'_

"Okay. About your classes, I already put in the requirements. History of other worlds, safety rules for the internet, and uh, remedial goodness 101."

"Let me guess, new class," Mal said. Doug nodded in confirmation. "Come on guys, let's go find our dorms."

"Uh guys, your dorms are that way," Doug pointed.

While the others started moving, Van stayed behind to speak with Doug.

"Hey, um, Doug right?" The son of Dopey nodded.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I was just wondering since the others are going to be sharing rooms will I sharing with anyone?" Van enquired.

Doug thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah, you do. I hope that's alright. Usually, each student has a roommate at the dorms," Doug explained.

"It's fine," Van cut him off. "I was just curious that's all." He turned to leave but stopped. "Hey since I'm here, mind if I ask you a few questions."

Doug brightened up at that. "Of course. Please ask and I'll answer to the best of my ability."

Wasting no time, Van asked what had been on his mind since the start of the day.

"This program that brings kids from the Isle over, how does it work?" he asked. "Who or what decides who is chosen and when they come?"

"That's a tricky one," Doug frowned. "The program is part of Ben's first proclamation when he becomes King. It's only really been around for two weeks so it's still pretty new. I don't know how people are chosen or when they come, sorry."

Van sighed. He was worried about receiving an answer like that. Still, he learned one thing from it. Ben was the one who arranged it and knowing that made him slightly more relaxed.

"This relates to the first one. If we wanted to give opinions or recommendations about who to come off, do you think they'd take them seriously?" he asked.

"Actually, yes," Doug said. "Since you're from the Isle, your opinion about whose there would be valued." Van felt a wave of relief wash over him. That was that issue solved. "Why? Is there anyone you'd recommend?"

"A few of my friends," he answered. "Some who I think would do well in Auradon."

Doug understood. Van was the only twelve-year-old in the group, so it made sense he'd want to bring people he was close with here.

"That's all for now," Van said as he turned to leave. "Thanks, Doug. See you later!"

"No problem," Doug said. "If you have any more questions feel free to ask."

As he walked away, Doug briefly considered asking Van why he looked like Sora but decided against it. The kid had just arrived, no need to overwhelm him.

**With Van**

After some walking, Van finally reached his dorm room. As he stood outside, he mentally prepared himself for who and what was on the other side.

' _Whoever my roommate is, I seriously hope he's not an asshole. I had to deal with enough of them on the Isle. And I hope he's nothing like Audrey,'_ Van silently prayed.

Van stepped into his dorm and was stunned at the layout of the room. The room was large, with two beds close to each other, several bookshelves, a table, fridge, and tv. To add to it all, most of the room was covered in navy blue ranging from the curtains, duvets, carpets, sofa chairs, and lamps. The walls were made of wood from what he could see. The sun shone through the open windows as the wind blew lightly.

' _Not really my color but it's nothing too bright so I can live with it,'_ he thought.

Van's attention was drawn to the other person in the room who was putting away some clothes. The moment Van entered his attention was drawn to him, and his eyes widened. The two studied each other briefly.

From what Van could see, the boy was around his age and height. Like Van, he had heterochromatic eyes, with the left being dark green, and the other being blue. He had spiky gold blonde hair with a few brown streaks where the front concentrated the spikes on the right side of his head as if windswept, while the back was smoother and flakier. The boy wore a green t-shirt, black and white hoodie, multicolored trousers that go green, black, grey, white, black from top to bottom, and grey and light green sneakers.

The boy looked somewhat startled to see Van.

' _Ugh, this is just like when I arrived,'_ Van remembered. _'Seriously, what is up with people? I get it, I look like Sora. It's not that big of a deal.'_

Despite appearing nervous, the boy approached him and held out his hand.

"Um, hi, I'm Ven," he greeted quietly. "Ventus' son."

Van couldn't believe what he was hearing. His roommate was none other than his cousin. He wondered whether this had been done deliberately or not but decided for the moment that he didn't care. Looks like this would be interesting.

Van shook Ven's hand and shook it. While he was at it, he let out a smirk.

"Nice to meet you. Names Van, Vanitas' son. Got it memorized?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? I didn't plan for the chapter to be this long but it happened anyway. As you could see, everyone is surprised at Van's resemblance to Sora. Why is that I wonder?
> 
> As you saw, Evie is well aware she doesn't have royal status. She figured it out while living on the Isle.
> 
> And yes, Ven is Ventus' son. I thought he would be a good roommate for Van. I was initially going to have both his eyes dark green but I decided to make him heterochromatic like Van. I think it would help with them both bonding.
> 
> One thing about this story, I'm willing to take OC suggestions. I've already thought of a few who will be Vans friends in the story. I'm having difficulty coming up with prejudiced characters. So far I've come up with the son of Riku and Xion, son of Sora and Kairi (for a very good reason which won't be revealed at this time), one of Ariels nieces, and the child of Emperor Kuzco. I'm still having difficulty coming up with them.
> 
> Next chapter will involve the museum heist.


	5. Evil like me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Van meets his roommate while Mal formulates a plan to steal the wand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything

**Mal and Evie**

The two girls quickly found their dorm room and upon entering were greeted with a similar setting to Van's room. Albeit theirs was pinker much to their chagrin.

"Gross," Mal muttered.

"I know right," Evie added. "The setting isn't bad but all the pink ruins it. Do you think we'll be allowed to change the color scheme?"

"That depends on how long we're here," Mal answered. "Hopefully though."

She wanted to get the wand as soon as possible but if they were going to be living here, she at least wanted to make it more bearable. That said there was one other issue to deal with.

"Ugh, I am going to need some serious sunscreen," Mal complained. She wasn't used to this much sun, none of them were. On the Isle there was no sunlight, only clouds hovering above them. "E." Mal indicated to the curtain and they both closed them respectively. "Much better."

"We should unpack," Evie declared. She then moved to close the door. "But first, I wanna try out something."

Evie extended out her right hand and concentrated. Five seconds later, the mirror her mother gave her appeared in a puff of blue smoke. Evie smiled with pride. While she never had the chance to try it before, she knew the theory from her grandmother and how to properly channel and cast her magic. It was the same for most kids who had a magical parent.

Not wanting to be left out, Mal held out her right hand and summoned fire. The flame was in the form of a fireball and was purple in appearance. A second later she extinguished it.

"That was fun," Evie admitted.

"No kidding," Mal agreed with her friend. "It's a lot stronger than two months ago."

"Makes you wonder why they don't use it that much," Evie continued.

She never understood why Auradon was so set on retiring magic. Sure it could do bad things, but good came from it as well.

"Whatever the case, things should go a lot smoother from now on," Mal brushed off. "Speaking of which, I wonder how the boys are getting on."

**Jay and Carlos**

Much like their friends, the duo arrived at their room. However, they were amazed with everything they saw.

"Wow, actual beds," Carlos exclaimed. "Looks like we'll actually be able to sleep for once."

"No kidding," Jay quickly agreed. "Better than what he has to deal with at home."

Carlos had to sleep in his mother's dressing room on a lumpy mattress which was quite difficult until Evie gave him a pillow that supposedly came from one of the castles in Auradon. Jay had it much rougher. He slept on a rug beneath a shelf filled with heavy tv's which surprisingly hadn't collapsed and crushed him to death so far.

"Woah check out this tv," Carlos exclaimed. "Check out this game console."

The tv's they had on the Isle were old fashioned, and the only games they had were at Dr. Faciliers Voodoo Arcade.

"The things I could get from this place," Jay said thinking of everything he could steal from this room and this school.

Overall, Jay and Carlos were adapting a lot quicker than the others were.

**Van and Ven**

There was an awkward silence between the two boys as they finally released hands. They both stared at each other, with mixed expressions. Van had a neutral one, while Ven had a nervous one, and for good reason.

He had only recently found out his roommate was from the Isle of the Lost, and Vanitas' son to boot. Growing up he had heard stories about what his uncle was like and the things he had done from his dad and Uncle Sora. And it frightened him. That man tried to hurt his family, and now his son was here with him. What if he held a grudge against them and tried to act on it? What if he summoned Unversed to attack him?

Van, oblivious to Ven's thoughts, moved aside and shut the curtains, and proceeded to close the remaining curtains. His action only confused (and scared) Ven even more.

"Um, what are you doing?" Ven asked uncertainly.

"Closing the curtains, what does it look like I'm doing?" Van deadpanned. "I'm not used to this much sunlight. Actually, scratch that, I'm not used to sunlight in general."

"Why not?" Ven asked confused.

Van shot him a look that had "are you serious?" written over his face.

"The Isle doesn't get sunlight. We constantly have clouds looming over us that sometimes bring rain, or in winter's case, snow," he explained. "We've never experienced the sun before today."

Ven was both saddened and intrigued to hear that. The sun was something he experienced every day here in Auradon. It was warm, beautiful, and had a peaceful impression on many. The idea that someone had never experienced its rays sounded wrong, at least in his opinion. However, he did find it intriguing because, without the sun, plant life couldn't grow there. So, how did the residents survive then?

Once again, oblivious to his cousin's thoughts, Van proceeded to unpack. Inside his bad was mostly clothing but there was also a journal filled with techniques he practiced, a pen and pencil, and a notebook or two for school. His parents had been thorough when packing his bag. Ven watched him the entire time, much to Van's annoyance.

"Okay, you can either sit there staring at me all day, or you can tell me what's wrong," Van declared.

"W-W-What?" Ven replied clearly startled. "Nothing's wrong. Why would anything be wrong? Do you think somethings wrong?"

Van rolled his eyes at Ven's obviousness. Dizzy could sometimes be like this but she was better at hiding it.

"You're scared of me," Van stated. "That much is obvious. And while that is the case for some people normally there's a reason behind it, and usually, after I've done something."

"I-I'm not scared of you," Ven argued weakly.

Van didn't buy it.

"Look Ven, we're going to be roommates for the year whether you like it or not so if it's all the same to you, I'd rather just cut past all the bullshit and deal with whatever hateful or terrifying concerns you have about me now," Van said coldly. He didn't care if he was being rude, he had much better things to be doing with his life than dealing with a kid constantly afraid of him. "So, here's how things are going to work. I'll ask you a question, you answer. You ask me a question, I'll answer. That sound good to you?"

Ven quickly nodded. He was really scared of Van now.

"Okay then, I'll go first," Van decided. "Are you afraid of me?"

"Yes," Ven blurted out.

He quickly covered his mouth. He hadn't meant to be so forward.

"Why?" Van asked.

"W-What?" Ven responded confused, causing Van to roll his eyes again.

"Why are you afraid of me?" Van deadpanned, "We literally just met, and the only thing I've done is introduce myself."

Ven stared at the ground in shame. Van did have a point.

"Is it because of who my father is?" Van asked.

It seemed like the most logical reason.

"I've heard a lot of stories about him," Ven admitted. "The things he did, and the things he could do." Ven continued to stare at the ground. "And I'm worried that you'll."

"That I'll do the same," Ven nodded, causing Van to sigh. "Ven, I don't know what you've heard, though I have a pretty good idea, but my dad isn't like that anymore. Sure, he can be strict and a bit of an asshole from time to time but other than that he's a good guy. Aside from when you piss him off that is, but a good guy mostly. It's the same for some of the other Isle residents."

Ven stared at his cousin, not quite believing him, however, he couldn't sense any lies in his voice.

"I'm not going to go seeking revenge in his name or anything like that. He moved on from that a long time ago," Van explained much to Ven's surprise. "I'm not going to hurt you either, not unless you give me a reason to."

Ven blinked. "Such as?"

"Trying to kill or attack me or one of my friends, seriously insulting me unprovoked, stealing from me," Van listed off. "Those sort of things."

"Oh, I see," Ven murmured. "You don't have to worry about any of those things… from me."

Van sighed. "Well, at least you're being honest about it."

Ven didn't reply, not immediately.

"There is one thing I would like to know if you don't mind me asking," he said.

"Shoot," Van replied.

"Your dad could summon Unversed. Can you do that?" Ven asked.

Van was surprised by the question. He had expected it at some point but not this soon.

"No," he answered. "At least I don't think I can. I've never tried it, and my dad never said anything about how to do it either. I don't I can though, I mean dad was only able to do that because he separated from Ventus and embodied all his darkness but I'm not like that, so I don't think it's possible."

It was true. He didn't know if it was even possible for him to summon Unversed, and if he was being honest with himself, he hoped he never did. His father had told him about what happened when Unversed were destroyed, how they returned to him only to be redistributed again afterward. Worst of all was the pain he felt when they were destroyed. The Unversed were apart of him so it was natural for him to feel hurt when one of them. Vanitas hadn't gone into too much detail about it, but he described it as like stabbed over and over again. Personally, he didn't mind a little pain from fights as that was natural, but to be in a constant state of pain was something he couldn't bear.

"I see," Ven finally said. "Well, then that's alright."

It seemed for the moment, the issues between the two of them were resolved, much to Van's relief.

Van quickly unpacked the rest of his stuff and put it away as orderly as he could. He contemplated asking Ven some questions of his own but decided enough was enough for today. They would have plenty of time to get to know each other during the semester.

"Hey, I'm going to check on the others," Van announced as he headed towards the door. "See you later."

Ven said nothing and went back to his textbooks. It was going to be a long semester, especially with the amount of homework he had to do.

**Jay and Carlos's room**

Van headed towards the boy's room and upon entering saw that Mal and Evie had already arrived. Carlos was playing a game while Jay showed Mall all of the stuff he had stolen since arriving. That boy sure didn't waste any time.

"Okay, so you could do that or, you could leave all of this here and pick it up when we take over the world," Mal said mockingly.

"You sound just like your mom," Evie noted.

"Thank you," Mal responded cheerfully with her hand over her heart.

Her mother was the person she aspired most to be like. And hearing that she sounded like her was one of the highest compliments she received from her best friend.

"You do it your way, and I'll do it mine," Jay snidely.

"Or you could stop now before you get caught and sent back," Van said making his presence known.

Jay shot him an incredulous look, while Mal and Evie were merely amused. Jay was many things but being easy to catch wasn't one of them.

"Ah, the boy in no mask decided to grace us with his presence," Mal said sarcastically.

"Nice to see you to dragon girl," Van grinned. "Oh wait, you can't turn into a dragon."

Despite the hatred between their parents, Van and Mal got on well, though they usually exchanged sarcastic comments and insults with each other. The fact that Van was best friends with her brother also helped.

"Die suckers! Haha. Jay come check this thing out man, it's awesome!" Carlos encouraged as he held out the controllers.

Jay quickly proved to be a natural at the game as he started taking enemies apart left and right.

' _Hmm, maybe this won't be so hard after all,'_ Van thought. _'I mean if Jay can be swayed like this then the only real issue is Mal.'_

"Guys," Mal called out annoyed. "Do I have to remind you what we're all here for?"

"Fairy Godmother, blah, blah, blah, magic wand, blah, blah, blah," Jay replied mockingly.

With that, Mal only became more frustrated at their lack of care for the situation.

"This is our one chance to prove ourselves to our parents," Mal said firmly. "To prove to them that we are evil and vicious and ruthless and cruel." Her eyes glared coldly at them. "Yeah?"

Unfortunately, not everyone took it that way.

"Our one chance?" Van asked incredulously. "Don't you mean your one chance?"

All eyes were on him now.

"Don't give me that look. We all know how you want to prove yourself to your mother Mal, it's not like you try and hide it," Van told them. "But none of us do. Our parents don't want us to prove ourselves to them. Cruella just wants Carlos to be her slave, while his dad is different." Carlos stared at the ground sadly. "Jafar just wants Jay to steal for him." Jay tightened his grip on the controllers. "Evie's parents want her to do well in life." Evie wore a neutral expression as she listened. "And my parents want me to follow my heart and do what I believe is best."

"Well, my mom isn't like your family Van," Mal snapped. The anger was evident in her voice but there was also a hint of sadness. "She expects a lot from me. I'm so sick of disappointing her and not living up to the name she gave me. Do you have any idea of what that's like? To have a name and not be fully worthy of it?"

She was on the verge of tears but managed to hold them back. Crying was a sign of weakness on the Isle, a sign you were vulnerable, and she couldn't afford that, not now.

"No, I don't. But that doesn't explain why you're acting this way?" Van asked still not understanding Mal's behavior. "The only thing she ever does is insult you for not being evil enough. Even if you get the wand there's no guarantee she'll treat you any better. So why do what she wants, and not what you want?"

Mal took a deep breath and stared at Van with hard eyes.

"You're right, I do want her respect," Mal confirmed. "And there is no guarantee she'll treat me any better if I succeed. But if I fail, do you have any idea what she'll do to me, to all of you?"

That one question created a deafening silence between the five VK's. Carlos looked incredibly nervous, Jay gulped, Evie's expression became worried, while Van's face was sympathetic.

He should have known from the beginning. Mal may have respected her mother, but she also feared her. And on the Isle, if you said no to Maleficent or failed her in any form it would have serious consequences. Van never did what Maleficent said, mostly because they avoided each other like a plague. However, if she tried something, he could protect himself, but with Mal, it wasn't the same. Maleficent knew her daughter's weaknesses and how to get under her skin. If Mal returned to the Isle without the wand, her mother would definitely punish her. She would try to punish them all.

' _This goes against what my mom said but I need to help her,'_ Evie decided. _'For the time being at least. I'll just have to work out a way to make sure we fail and not get caught. Mal can be persuaded over time but I'm not letting her go at this alone. I'd be a poor excuse of a BF if I didn't.'_

"Van, I understand where you're coming from, but for now we need to focus on the task at hand," Van stared at her in disbelief. "Otherwise, Mal will try and go at this alone. And we don't want that do we?"

Realization dawned on the dark-haired boy as he saw the implications of what she was saying. Mal gave her friend a grateful look. At least she was on her side.

"Thanks E," Mal said.

"What are friends for?" Evie replied.

She sat down at the table and took out her magic mirror.

"Time to get down to business. Mirror mirror in my hand, where does Fairy Godmother's wand stand?" Evie asked.

There was a moment filled with haze as the mirror changed from her reflection to the wand they were searching for. Instead of giving it more orders, Evie waved her hand over it and the next thing they saw was the building it was being kept at, the Museum of Cultural History. Carlos was already typing up the address on a laptop Jay stole. Mal was ready to set out when Evie stopped her.

"Hold on M, we should see how many guards there are first," she warned as she waved her hand again. Much to all of their surprise, there was only one. "One? Seriously!"

"There's no way it's that easy," Jay exclaimed.

As a master thief, he knew better than anyone, no heist was simple. There were always complications.

"Check the cameras from here to there," Carlos said. "They could probably catch us."

"By them, you SHIELD?" Mal said. "Yeah, no way they aren't spying on the kids fresh off the Isle."

Evie waved her hand again, only to find that no one from SHIELD or any faction was watching them.

"Okay putting one of the most powerful objects in the universe at a local museum with low security and few cameras, that's basically asking to have it stolen," Van said.

For once, everyone was in complete agreement.

"It's Auradon," Mal said. "Everyone is raised to be all goody-two-shoes and stuff. They probably wouldn't expect this sort of thing."

Now that made sense.

"Whatever the case, we need to deal with those cameras first," Carlos stated. "I could hack into them but it will take time."

"We don't have that much time," Mal informed them as she stood in front of the laptop with her mother's spellbook. She pointed her hand at the device and purple sparks appeared. "Beware, forswear, give us control of the camera's software!"

In an instant, the screen on the computer changed and it matched up with all the cameras in the area, including the museums.

Carlos was both impressed, and mind boggled.

"Since when does Maleficent have spells for manipulating technology?" he asked stunned.

"She doesn't," Mal answered. "With the right will and the right rhymes, anything is possible."

Carlos didn't even bother questioning it as Mal was the magic expert, not him. He got straight to work on the cameras. At first, he planned to disable them but quickly realized that was a bad idea. He didn't know if their little hack had been picked up on and he sure wasn't waiting to find out. So, instead, he opted to alter what was being recorded. Now the cameras wouldn't show them, and neither would the cameras on the outside of the museum, as well as the main section inside.

"It's done," Carlos said as the others stood up ready to leave.

"Great," Mal said. "Let's move out."

**Museum of Cultural History**

They arrived at the museum much quicker than they thought they would, encountering little to no difficulty along the way. Guided by the mirror they found the best entrance where they could see the security guard observing the monitor through the window, along with several artifacts. These included: Maleficent's Spindle, Genie's Lamp, Cinderella's Glass Slipper, and Loki's Sceptre. As it was at the center, the Spindle had everyone's attention.

"That's your mom's spindle," Jay laughed alongside Carlos and Van.

"Kinda dorky," Carlos added.

"All that talk she gives about being the evilest, yet her grand plan is a stupid piece of junk," Van mocked. And then, in the same tone she used after stealing from a baby. "I'm so disappointed."

Mal growled at their insults, though secretly she felt the same way. For years her mother described the spindle as a sinister, evil, deadly trap that lured their victim to eternal doom. This, however, was depressing, and if she were being honest, downright boring.

"It's magic. It doesn't have to look scary," Mal defended as she started looking through her spellbook. "Magic spindle do not linger. Make my victim prick a finger."

Nothing happened.

"Impressive," Jay snarked.

"I got chills," Carlos deadpanned.

At this point, Mal had had enough.

"Prick the finger, prick it deep. Send my enemy off to sleep," Mal chanted.

This time something did happen. The guard got up and approached Spindle with an emotionless expression. He reached out and touched the tip with his finger and sparks flashed. A few seconds later he was lying next to the spindle fast asleep.

"Not so dorky now, huh?" Mal said as she tried to open the door, only to find it was locked.

"Allow me," Jay offered before being stopped by Mal.

"No, kicking down the door isn't going to help. We need to be more subtle than that," Mal told him. She then turned to the youngest member of their group. "Van, you're up."

"Got it," he said quietly.

Taking a step back Van held out his right hand. A second later, his keyblade flashed into existence. The keyblade's appearance was comprised of a guard with a red and black feather-like appearance, black handle, long black shaft with red ribbons attached to it, a red heart where the shaft met the handle, a blackbird at the teeth with red feathers. There were several keychains attached to it, the final being a smaller version of his Wayfinder.

Everyone (Van included) was curious about its current capabilities. On the Isle, they had seen Van fight with it, however, because of the barrier, most of its powers were sealed away. Here in Auradon it would flourish and have its full abilities unlocked. It would take time, but it would happen.

Van aimed his keyblade at the door and a small light circled around the tip of the blade and shot at the door, undoing all the locks and opening up the door.

"So this is what it feels like," Van murmured softly.

The feeling of power, the ability to open anything and do so much more with the keyblade, was difficult to describe. It didn't feel bad though, which was good, right? He wondered if this was how Sora felt when he used the keyblade like this for the first time.

"Van," Evie called out concerned.

"I'm fine," he quickly shrugged. "Let's move on."

"Wait for a second!" Carlos warned as he ran inside.

He went up to the computer with the cameras and with a few keystrokes, the cameras were all turned off. Now they could do whatever the hell they wanted.

"Nice job," Mal complimented. "Now let's find the wand."

The five VK's moved throughout the museum guided by the mirror. As they climbed the stairs, they soon entered the Gallery of Villains where they saw statues of their parents or at least some of them. There was Regina in her black dress holding up an apple with black fog (presumably the dark curse) surrounding her; Jafar holding his Snake Staff; Cruella in her large fur dalmatian coat as she chased after dalmatian puppies; Chernabog as he rose from Bald Mountain; Loki in his golden armour; Maleficent holding her Dragon Sceptre; and Master Xehanort holding up his keyblade in a fighting stance with shadow heartless surrounding him.

Surprisingly, the other half of their parents weren't here. Van's father wasn't here for some reason, though he didn't seem to care much.

Each VK had a different reaction to what they saw.

"Mom?" Evie whispered.

She was a little unnerved at how life-like these statues were. It was almost as if they were in their parent's presence right now.

"Killer," Jay exclaimed.

"I'll never forget Mother's Day again," Carlos said fearfully.

The Isle didn't celebrate the day or any holidays. Not even Christmas. Birthday's might have been celebrated from time to time but that was it. When you lived on an island with almost nothing but bad memories there was hardly anything worth celebrating.

"So that's Xehanort," Van snarled.

What he wouldn't give to slice that statue apart here and now with his keyblade, or at least strike raid it in half. It was no secret he hated the man and wouldn't change his opinion anytime soon.

Mal just stared at the statue of her mother with a troubled expression.

"Well, the wand's not here, so let's bounce," Jay decided clapping his hands together. "Let's go."

Van quickly walked away knowing that if he stayed another second, he would destroy something. Everyone but Mal was quick to follow.

Mal continued to stare at her mother's statue worried.

' _The future of the free world rests on your shoulders, don't blow it,'_ her mother's voice echoed.

Mal wouldn't admit this to anyone but, she felt a lot of pressure at the task she was given. Her mother expected her to succeed and free her from the Isle, free all the villains of the Isle but, was that what she wanted? The only thing she had ever wanted was to make her mother proud, despite how impossible it seemed. She wanted her acknowledgement, was that really so much to ask? If she failed, well, she didn't really want to think about it. However, if she came back empty-handed it wouldn't be simple insults and scolding this time, it would be much worse.

That left her with the question, could she do it? Was she capable of pulling off such a feat? She didn't know, and that scared her. She didn't want to fail, but at the same time, she didn't know if she wanted to succeed. It was a very complicated situation for her.

' _I don't know what I should do,'_ Mal lamented.

Unbeknownst to Mal, her fear and insecurity became darkness which slowly spread to the statue.

"Mal," Evie called having come back. "Come on!"

And she was gone again

That's when Mal heard and evil cackle behind her as the statue came to life.

"W-What?" Mal exclaimed horrified. "How?"

This didn't make any sense. How could her mother be here? She was still on the Isle, Mal knew she was.

"Don't be so serious darling!" Maleficent cackled. Then her tone turned serious. "I was like you once. Weak, vulnerable, insecure. But, I stopped listening to my heart and started using my head. And look at me now. I am strong, powerful, confident, and feared."

Mal found the idea of her mother being insecure hard to believe considering how strong-willed she was. Then again, she didn't know much about her past so she couldn't comment.

Extending out her hand, a sphere of darkness formed that soon consumed them both.

The entire room was eclipsed in darkness. Mal couldn't hear or see anything. She couldn't call out to her friends, though she wasn't sure she should. It would be a sign of weakness in front of her mother.

Maleficent smirked evilly at her daughter. It was good that she was still capable of instilling fear after all these years. Fear was one of the most useful tools in the world and it was especially efficient in getting what you wanted. If you asked people would give you something without question, or wanting anything in return. It was perfect.

"Listen up!" Maleficent commanded in a harsh tone, causing Mal to flinch. "Now is not the time for doubt, nor insecurity. It is time for action. Here and now, you and your... companions, the Sora spawn included, have a golden opportunity to free us from the wretched confines of this infernal prison. Focus on nothing else but this, and all shall be well."

Mal knew what Maleficent wanted her to do, what she was supposed to do. That didn't wipe away her insecurities.

"Let me ask you something. Do you want your brothers or friends to continue living this life? A life where you are starving most days with nothing to eat but rotten food? A life where death is always a possibility? A life where you are utterly powerless?" the Mistress of Evil asked.

Mal froze. She did not want that. Not for anyone she cared about.

"Tell me, have you forgotten how Auradon has treated us these past years, or how they refused to help us six years ago?" Maleficent continued.

Mal felt her entire insides freeze as cold as ice. She glared at her mother with a hardened expression.

"I could never forget even if I tried," she snarled. "I was there after all. I saw the pain, the despair." A small tear fell down her cheek. "I remember them. I found their bodies after all."

Mal had seen many disturbing things on the Isle along with unfortunate encounters that left her scarred. But that moment, that one incident would forever haunt her.

"Then get me the wand, unless you want them all to end up like your brothers," Maleficent ordered, only to be surprised by an ice-cold glare from Mal whose eyes were glowing stronger than they ever had.

Mal's fury began to affect the area. The illusion of darkness began to break away and a ring of blue fire began to form around them. Several cracks began to form around the area.

"Fine, I'll get you your fucking wand," she growled with such anger it made Maleficent (or her statue) flinch. "I know what happens if I fail. But mark my words Maleficent, if you ever speak ill of them in front of me again, then you won't have to worry about any of the heroes because I'll kill you myself."

That was the first time she had ever threatened her mother like that. Both women were a little surprised by the act. Considering Mal got her temper from her father it might not have been as surprising. However, it didn't matter, no one talked shit about her brothers and got away with it.

Using her own magic, Mal unleashed a force that destroyed the illusion and some of the room. Maleficent was sent flying back against the wall. When Mal regained composure, she was a statue again.

"Hey," Evie said catching Mal by surprise. "Let's." Then she saw the room. "What in Hades! M, what happened?"

Mal didn't answer immediately. She was still trying to calm down as blue flames burned and her eyes glowed green with fury.

"M, M, look at me," Evie said softly. "You need to calm down or we'll be found."

Mal hesitated for a moment before the flames disappeared and her eyes returned to normal. She was panting heavily.

"Sorry, I just had," she stopped herself short. "You know what I'll tell you later. Help me fix this up?"

Combining their magic, Mal and Evie stiched the room back together as though it had never been damaged in the first place. Before they returned to their friends, Mal took one last look at the statue.

' _What was all that? Did I imagine it?'_ Mal wondered. _'Whatever the case, let's just get this over with.'_

Mal arrived alongside her friends at the site of the wand, which was surrounded by some form of energy. She didn't feel any excitement though or enthusiasm. She should have but the previous encounter left her drained.

Van was nervous. He hadn't expected them to get this far. How could they end up failing and not get caught at this rate?

' _Ugh, why did the heroes have to make getting this far so easy?'_ he internally groaned. _'There's been no resistance, no proper security measures, no alarms. The only thing there's been is this damn hovering light. Wait, hovering light?'_ That's when realization struck him like lightning. _'Maybe, just maybe, it has a. It must. Even the heroes aren't stupid enough to leave something of this magnitude unguarded. How do I set it off though without betraying the others?'_ That's when he saw Jay moving towards the wand, causing him to let out a small smirk. _'If I know Jay, and I do, he'll try and steal it simply because it's right there.'_

And Jay did not disappoint. Immediately he tried to enter, much to Mal's horror.

"Jay don't," she warned. "Wait, no, no, no."

Of course, he didn't listen. He smirked at her and made an attempt to grab the wand only to be repelled by a force field, causing the alarm to go off and wake up the guard who immediately started searching for the intruders.

The VK's covered their ears at the loud noise they were hearing.

"A force field and a siren," Carlos exclaimed.

"That's just a little excessive," Jay complained as he struggled to stand up.

Instead of arguing about it, the five VK's proceeded to escape the museum while narrowly avoiding the guard who checked on the wand. At the entrance there was a phone call which Carlos intercepted, wanting to calm the situation as much as possible. The fewer people knew about this, the better.

"Hello. Uh, uh, just give me one second, one second," Carlos typed a few buttons and turned off the alarm. "Uh yeah, yeah. No, false alarm. It was a malfunction in the, uh, in the LM 714 chip in the breadboard circuit. Yeah, okay. Say hi to the missus."

Van had to admit, Carlos' tech whiz impressed him from time to time.

"Carlos," Mal hissed.

"You're welcome," Carlos shrugged as he ran after the others.

Honestly, it was frustrating how little credit he got for trying to help.

"Way to go Jay. Now we have to go to school tomorrow," Mal complained. _'Though honestly, I'm a little relieved we didn't succeed tonight.'_

"My bad," he apologised.

Van, on the other hand, was relieved that they had failed. That meant there was still a chance he could fulfil his promise to his father.

**Van and Ven's room**

Van silently crept back into his own room. It was late and he didn't want to wake Ven, who was fast asleep on his bed much to his relief.

Trying not to male too much noise, Van got changed and entered his own bed. Much to his surprise, it was very soft, and the duvet provided much warmth. Auradon Prep had some perks it seemed. Beds on the Isle weren't exactly easy to come by. His own bed was a single mattress while his parents slept on a double one.

As he lay in his bed, the events from the entire day played over in his head. So much, had happened in so little time. This morning he was just a boy from the Isle causing random trouble, and now he was a student at a school in Auradon trying to set an example and foil an evil fairy's plan. Life sure worked in mysterious ways.

He thought about his parents, and friends and how they might have been doing. He thought about the other Isle residents, about Ben, and about Ven. He didn't know what to think of them, but they didn't seem bad, at least not to him. Ven was a little timid but other than that he was alright.

He thought about his companions who came with him. He knew it wouldn't be easy to change them (mostly Mal) but he didn't care. He wouldn't give up. Not without a fight.

And that was a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? I showed a bit of everyone's first time in their room because I thought it would be a bit different.
> 
> What did you think of Ven? He's a bit timid and shy but he's going to change as the story goes on. While this will follow the 'Descendants' movie there will be different story arcs taking place for different characters.
> 
> I hope no ones minds me making Mal and Evie more proficient in magic. While they wouldn't be able to practice it they would know the theory behind it. Also, I htought it would make sense if the VK's more cautious about robbing the museum instead of just making things up on the spot.
> 
> Regarding songs I will be sticking with the film, though part me wonders if I could put in ones from Kingdom Hearts and other Disney movies since they're all part of the same franchise.
> 
> Anyway, this is where the real story starts. Hope you enjoyed. Please review.


	6. On your left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Van makes the acquaintance of a veteran hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. I'm sure you've gotten warnings about it before, and I'm sure you're sick of hearing about it, but I will provide one of my own.
> 
> With the Coronavirus spreading across the world, please follow your governments directions and stay inside. The disease is dangerous and has infected and killed many people. so, please stay inside and avoid contact with others. I know it won't be easy but please try so that you and your family and friends will be safe.
> 
> Okay onto the chapter.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Van woke up early the following morning, as he did with most. It was a habit he had developed while training growing up. Most would generally prefer to lie in, Van liked mornings because there were very few people around, meaning he could act however he pleased. Normally he would do push-ups or sit-ups or stretching exercises, however, this morning he decided to go jogging instead.

Van didn't know much about the layout of this school or the territory in general, so now would be a good opportunity to look around. Also, it was six in the morning, so he didn't want to wake Ven. Getting dressed quietly Van snuck out of his room and began exploring.

From what he saw the schools design was impressive. Classroom and hall designs weren't so bad, and the walls and lockers were decorated with pictures, paint, and statues.

' _It's not too bad,'_ Van admitted. _'I suppose the look is better than Dragon Hall, but that's all I'll say.'_

Outside Van took off jogging which started off on the school grounds but then went into the forest right next to it. Van jogged slowly to conserve his energy, while at the same time he took to admiring the world around him.

' _I've never seen a place like this before,'_ he thought. _'It's so filled with life. The air and ground are clean, there are animals running about, there are actual birds flying instead of vultures, and it's filled with non-venomous plant life. Then there's the sun. It's so beautiful, and it's rays are warm to the touch.'_

As a boy who'd only ever known the Isle as his home, everything Van was experiencing was new. He was like a child who'd been allowed out for the first time and taking in the world in all its glory. It was a little overwhelming.

Van was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't sense someone coming up from behind him, almost.

He heard someone running up behind him and saw it was a tall, blonde man wearing a blue t-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms.

"On your left," he said as he sped by Van.

Van was a little bewildered by the man's sudden appearance, and comment, but figured he must have just been some guy jogging and moved on.

Then he came to the sports pitch, which intrigued him slightly due to the appearance on the ground. The grass was normally green, not white. Before he could dwell on it, he heard running again.

"On your left," the man from before said again as he ran.

"What the hell!" Van exclaimed.

He was suddenly left feeling bewildered as to how the same man from before came up behind him, and so fast. Van guessed he was doing laps, but most people weren't that fast.

Van was coming up to the school again when he heard a familiar voice.

"On your left," the man repeated.

**(Insert song: Red like Roses Caleb Hyles version)**

' _Seriously you're starting to piss me off,'_ Van angrily thought.

The guy was basically mocking Van as if he was challenging him to a race.

The incident repeated for the fourth time that left Van fuming.

"On your left," the man said again.

' _I swear, if he does that on more time, I will stop holding back and go straight all out,'_ he swore.

It was when Van arrived back the entrance that he lost it. The man, who appeared to be on his fifth lap (how was that even possible? Was he even human?), passed Van again.

"On your left," and a storm was unleashed.

' _THAT FUCKING DOES IT!'_ Van mentally roared. _'HE WANTS TO RACE SO BADLY?! FINE I'LL GIVE HIM ONE!'_

Van dropped any pretence of subtlety and started going all out. Dashing forward, he moved to the side as he passed the man.

"On your left asshole," Van growled as he continued to run.

The man blinked, his expression changing from concentrated to surprised at both being passed out, and insulted, by a kid no less.

' _Maybe I shouldn't have done the whole "on your left" as I did with Sam,'_ he thought.

Despite this, part of him felt compelled to race the kid now that he had gotten serious. That and there weren't many willing to take him on in sports (for obvious reasons). Deciding to go along with it just once, the man pushed forward and ran faster than before. Within little time he caught up to Van again and was close to passing him yet again. However, this time Van wasn't putting up with it and pushed himself to stay in front. That wasn't enough though, as the man passed Van again, this time not saying anything.

' _Well at least he's taking e seriously,'_ Van thought. _'However, I'm clearly at a disadvantage. Luckily for me, we never set any rules for this race.'_

When they arrived back at the school, instead of following the route like before, Van did a butterfly kick off the stone ledge to the ground below and continued running. No one said he couldn't take shortcuts.

The man noticed and briefly slowed down to observe.

' _Oh ho,'_ he smirked. _'That's how it is! Alright then. We never did set any rules.'_

As impressed as he was with the boy, that didn't stop him from passing him out again.

For the next thirty minutes, the two repeated the process of running around the school each passing each other out at different stages. For Van, he had to use his parkour skills to get ahead a couple of times. Despite the fact that he was running out of energy he refused to give in and kept going until he couldn't anymore. When he finished at the entrance, he was panting heavily and (through some miraculous means) barely standing.

**(Song end)**

' _That's it, I've run out of energy,'_ Van reluctantly realized. _'I can't run anymore. Otherwise, I'll pass out.'_

As much as he hated to admit it, he was finished. The man from before had continued on running until he arrived back around and saw Van again.

"Need a medic?" he asked sarcastically.

Van glared at him.

"Not as… Not as… mu… much as," Van panted. This wasn't easy for him since he couldn't control his breathing. He took a second to calm down before speaking clearly. "Not as much as you're going to need one when I'm done with you."

The man frowned. He had been threatened by plenty of people in his life, but never by a kid.

"I wouldn't go around threatening teachers if I were you," he suggested. "Most probably wouldn't react well to it."

This time it was Van who frowned.

"You're a teacher here?" Van asked disbelievingly.

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?" Van just rolled his eyes. "Want to know what I teach?"

"P.E.?" Van guessed.

The man blinked surprised. "How could you tell?"

"With the way you run, there's no way you're not a PE teacher," Van replied incredulously. "Also, those biceps, you keep in shape, and I'm guessing you know how to get others into it as well."

At that, the man let out a chuckle.

"I try my best. I'm also a self-defence instructor at Auradon Prep. I give students some basic self-defence training in case the need for it arises in the future," he explained.

"I bet your classes are tough," Van said jokingly.

"Not really no. If they were then all the students would walk out because of the intensity," he joked back.

"If they can't handle it then they shouldn't be there," Van replied harshly.

He didn't care how he sounded about it. The training was always tough, regardless of what it was for. If it wasn't tough, if it wasn't challenging, then what was there to gain from it? It was better if the training was tough because that way you were pushing your limits and would get much stronger as a result. Easy training wouldn't do that, because it showed you weren't taking things seriously. Learning something new was never easy for anyone, hell, nothing was ever easy, but that was the way life worked. Van learned that from the people around him early on in his life, as did many of his friends.

"Little harsh don't you think?" the man asked however Van could sense it was more curious than patronising.

"Life is harsh," Van shot back. "From the moment we're born it's harsh, at least it is where I'm from. I don't know how things are done in Auradon, but I seriously doubt everything is simple here. There's no way a world like that exists."

The man couldn't fault the logic in his words. He had experienced the same thing throughout his life. However, he was stunned to hear it from someone so young.

"True," he agreed. "A world like that doesn't exist. It's not heaven after all. I'm surprised one of Sora's kids would say that though, considering he's usually so laid back."

That was obviously the wrong thing to say because the moment the words left his mouth Van was glaring fiercer than before.

"Let me make one thing clear. I am not Sora's son. My father is Vanitas from the Isle of the Lost," Van growled. "I get we look alike but we're not related. Well, we are kind of related but it's complicated." He was seriously starting to get annoyed at how people confused him and Sora because they looked similar. "By the way, who the hell are you?"

"Steve," the man answered. "Steve Rogers." Van frowned. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't think of where he'd heard it. "And what's your name if I may ask."

"Van," he responded gruffly.

Steve eyed Van curiously. So this was one of the transfers from the Isle. He'd heard from Fairy Godmother, and Prince Ben himself, that five were coming as part of the new proclamation and they had arrived yesterday. While some of the other teachers had voiced their concerns, he was very to the idea.

He knew a little bit about the Isle from his best friend Bucky who had volunteered to live there. At the time he had been against it since Bucky had worked hard to become a hero and atone for his deeds as the Winter Soldier, only to give it all up. However, his friend insisted that someone would have to keep order there and make sure that they couldn't escape, which Steve reluctantly acknowledged but was still against. Nonetheless, he supported the decision and the two kept in contact over the years via mail.

Or at least he used to.

"Well Van, it's nice to meet you," Steve greeted holding out his hand.

"I'd say the same Steve but considering how you provoked me earlier not so much," Van shook the hand gripping it tightly.

Steve quickly took note of how strong Van was.

"Sorry about that," he apologised. "It was never my intent to provoke anyone."

"Seriously?!" Van deadpanned. "You pass me out several times while saying "on your left". That's basically asking for a race."

Steve laughed again.

"I guess. It's just something I used to do with an old friend of mine," he admitted. "I mean I still do it with him, but he also says it back which is incredibly rare." He noticed the look Van was giving him. "I'm really sorry. I was just surprised to see someone so young out this early. Up until now, it's just been me."

Van looked away.

"I always get up this early," Van admitted. "Mostly because of training but this time it was because I couldn't sleep."

"Really?" Steve asked surprised. "Why not?"

"A couple of reasons. One is the bed. It's really soft and compared to what I'm used to it's like," Van started.

"Lying on a marshmallow," Steve finished. "I know the feeling."

Van shot him a quizzical look. He didn't know what a marshmallow was but he assumed it was something soft. Van decided he would look into it later.

"I'm also still getting used to the idea of being in Auradon," he continued. "I never actually thought I'd come here. Then again, neither did the others."

Steve could understand that. Those grown up in one place, never knowing or experiencing anything else. It was natural for them to feel a little disoriented.

"It must have been a shock when you received the invitation a week ago," Steve said

"Actually, it was the old hag who runs the Isle Maleficent who received it and kept it to herself," Van corrected his voice laced with venom. "The five of us didn't find out until an hour before we were supposed to leave."

"What?!" Steve exclaimed shocked.

It was one thing to be told you would be leaving your home but finding out you would be leaving an hour before with little time to prepare was another matter altogether. What's more, they hadn't been given the chance to think it over first.

"Yeah, I know!" Van snapped. "That draconic bitch kept it from us for an entire week and only told the day we were leaving so we couldn't refuse. I swear, one of these days I'm going to throw my damn keyblade at her head."

"Why would she do that?" Steve asked ignoring Van's outburst.

While he had heard of Maleficent, he had never actually met her face to face. Some called her the worst villain that ever lived though Steve thought that was a matter of opinion. He had fought many villains who were a danger not just to the world but the universe in general and if he had to say who was the worst, he'd go with Thanos considering what he did to thousands of planets not to mention wiping out half of the universe. Red Skull wasn't too far behind.

"No clue," Van lied. "Who knows what goes on in that crazy lady's head?"

Steve was still confused by the whole thing. He didn't think Van was lying, and he could definitely tell from his tone of voice that he hated the woman (or simply disliked her).

"Well anyway, we were driven here, got sick along the way, there was this whole band playing at the school, we met Fairy Godmother, Prince Ben," Van listed off. "And God do I feel sorry for him because his vain girlfriend Princess Audrey calls him Bennyboo. Bennyboo!" Steve cringed at the nickname. "I swear who would torture another person with a nickname like that? Anyway, they gave us a tour of the building and grounds, we went and got our rooms where I am apparently sharing with my cousin. And well, the rest is history."

Van summarized everything perfectly (leaving out the museum raid).

"I see," the super-soldier said softly. "Well, what do you think of Auradon so far?"

"Considering I've been here for less than a day, it's alright I guess," Van answered. "It's cleaner, and greener, than the Isle for sure but that's all I'll say for the moment. I don't know what to make of the rest of it."

Steve realized he had asked a stupid question. Van had only been here for a day, and he hadn't seen enough yet to form a proper opinion.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question," Steve apologized.

"I've heard stupider questions believe it or not," Van retorted. "Yours isn't even in the top ten."

Steve laughed again, this time Van joining in. The kid had a sense of humour that much was obvious.

"Well, that's a relief," Steve said. "Would it be alright if I asked one more?"

"Asking someone if you can ask another stupid question," Van responded with both an amused expression. "Now that is not something you hear every day."

"No, it isn't," Steve hot back just as amused. "Can I?"

"Shoot," Van said.

"Since you get up early, will I see you here jogging again?" he asked.

Steve was legitimately curious. Hardly anyone got up this early and went out jogging, so it would be nice if he could do it with someone for a change. That and it would be great to have someone who could keep up with him to a degree.

Van considered it for a moment. While he didn't like losing to the guy, he the prospect of a challenge intrigued him. And after all, he loved strong opponents.

"Probably since I don't want to wake up my roommate with the sound of push-ups and stretching," Van answered. "Why? Looking for a jogging partner?"

"Maybe," Steve grinned.

After a minute of deliberation, Van made a decision.

"Fine, but let's be clear about something. You do that whole "on your left" on me again and I will punch so hard you'll need mages healing spell to fix it," Van warned.

"I can live with that," Steve said quickly. "Alright then, it's a deal."

Van snorted. He hadn't been trying to make a deal but if Steve thought it was, he would humour him.

"I'd better get back," Van said. "I'm sweating buckets and I need to change."

"Do you know where the student showers are?" Steve asked wanting to be helpful. Van's answer was silence. "Alright then, come with me. I'll show you."

They headed inside the school where Steve quickly showed Van where the showers were. He also explained that the school provided proper wash materials such as shampoo and soap.

"Well, thanks for that Steve," Van said. "I'd better get going since classes start in two hours."

"No problem," Steve said. "I look forward to seeing you in class. A couple of warnings though. One, when you're in class please call me Mr Rogers because it'll look strange otherwise. When school is over, or it hasn't started yet you can call me Steve." Van raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. "Two, watch the language. A lot of teachers would probably punish you for it." Van scowled. The teachers on the Isle of the Lost didn't have an issue with him swearing though he quickly reminded himself that this was Auradon. "And that's about it I think."

"Thanks for heads up, Steve," Van said. "Especially about swearing."

"Anytime," Steve retorted.

With that the two said goodbye and parted ways, each having formed respective opinions about one another.

Van thought Steve was an alright guy. He was a little infuriating, but he presented some competition for him. While he couldn't say for certain, he got the sense that Steve had experienced his fair share of fights. And, strangely enough, he was looking forward to meeting him again.

Steve thought Van was a likeable kid. He was definitely tough and possessed an attitude that much was obvious but other than that he wasn't so bad. That detail about being able to use a keyblade did not miss Steve's ears. It meant Van was trained. He didn't know how well but he got the feeling he was going to find out.

Van spent around thirty minutes in the shower just soaking. The feeling he got from it all was exhilarating. On the Isle, they didn't have hot water, only cold. If they wanted water hot, they would have to heat it themselves which wasn't easy. As much as he would have liked to spend all day there, he knew he didn't have the time. It was going to be a busy first day (though he didn't realize how much).

When he arrived back, Ven was awake and getting dressed.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"Jogging, shower," Van simply answered. "Met this guy called Steve Rogers while out jogging and we raced for a bit."

"You raced Captain America?!" Ven exclaimed.

Van's eyes widened.

"Captain America? One of the Avengers?" Ven nodded. "Blonde guy with the huge build."

Ven nodded again.

"I mean he's retired now but yeah, the same person," Ven said.

' _So that's why his name sounded familiar,'_ Van realized. _'He's the Steve Bucky mentioned from time to time.'_

Van knew the Winter Soldier from the Isle. They had sparred together before. And while he was generally serious around most adults, he was often friendly with children.

"Well I'll be damned," Van muttered. "That explains why he could run so fast."

Ven wanted to ask more questions at that moment but decided that they needed to get breakfast first.

The pair went down to the canteen where, much to Vans surprise, there was a selection of foods such as meat, cereal, bread and fruit they were allowed to take for free. Van thought it was strange that it was all free but was too hungry to question. Since he didn't know what to get he just copied Van and got some cereal and orange juice which weren't too bad in his opinion.

' _Huh, maybe things won't be so bad after all,'_ Van thought.

**With Steve**

After having a shower of his own, Steve returned to the school in his usual gym gear. However, this time he was stopping by the headmistress's office. Knocking on the door, he politely allowed himself in.

"Ah, Steve," Fairy Godmother greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"Fairy Godmother," Steve greeted back.

When he first met the woman, he was a little taken back at her cheerful attitude but gradually came to respect her as a teacher.

"Regarding your previous request to have one of the staff assist Cody during the first year's field trip, is that offer still open?" he asked.

"Why of course," she responded cheerfully. "What made you decide?"

"I met one of the Isle kids called Van this morning, and he seems to have trouble adapting," Steve explained. "I don't think he's a bad kid, but I get the feeling others aren't going to see them the same way. I'd like to go to keep things under control and make sure no one does anything to provoke him."

Fairy Godmother frowned. She had forgotten Van was a first year. The others had gotten permission from their parents to go on the field trip, but Van had only arrived yesterday. It wouldn't be fair to exclude him.

"Very well then," she decided. "You can go and supervise. I'll inform Mr Martin and during Remedial Goodness, I'll inform Van. It wouldn't be right to leave him here."

"I still can't believe that's a class now," Steve commented.

"It's the only way I could get parents to be somewhat okay about this proclamation," she shrugged. "Do you remember the number of phone calls and complaints I got about this?"

The moment news of Prince Ben's proclamation appeared, it spread like wildfire throughout the entire kingdom. Parents had not been happy. Hell, a lot of royals and authority figures weren't happy. Queen Leah was screeching about how they would end up destroying Auradon, Chi-Fu made a declaration about how Ben was making a horrible decision as King, and Thaddeus Ross insisted that they post guards around the school in case they exhibited any special abilities or did any funny business. The list went on but no one yielded.

Steve honestly sympathised with Ben. He was still in school, yet he was to be crowned king soon. Running an entire country like Auradon was not an easy task, especially for a sixteen-year-old.

He sympathised with Fairy Godmother because her job required a lot of attention and involved looking after all the students. It came with a lot of criticism as well.

"Point taken," Steve said. "Well, I'd better let you get prepared. See you later Fairy Godmother. And thank you."

"Thank you, Steve," she replied. "Enjoy the trip."

Steve left leaving Fairy Godmother alone in her office. She had much to prepare for. However, so did the VK's. It was going to be a busy day for all of them.

Because it was today, they would people who would become their friends and some who would become their enemies. Especially in Van's case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? I bet you didn't expect to see Steve Rogers, aka Captain America as a teacher. Van's relationship with him is going to be that of a mentor and student and also parental. I thought he would be someone Van would be able to connect easily with.
> 
> Also, what did you think of the little RWBY song cover insert here? I thought it would go well with the scene. I may include a few more inserts depending on the situation.
> 
> Next chapter focuses on Van as meets his classmates and then goes on a field trip. His potential friends will be introduced as will his first friend. That includes his enemies. I'll let you figure out who they are though.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. Please Review.
> 
> Post note: I forgot to mention this before but some of you might be wondering how Steve is here in his younger form. To be honest I didn't like the ending of Endgame where he went back in time to live with Peggy. To me it was just a convenient way to write him out of future MCU movies and a bad way to end his arc. So I've rewritten it so that he didn't stay with Peggy at the end of Endgame.


	7. Meeting the classmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Van meets his new classmates and teachers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything

"Someone hands you a crying baby. Do you A: curse it? B: lock it in a tower? C: give it a bottle? Or D: carve out its heart?" Fairy Godmother quizzed the five VK's as she motioned her pointer towards the options.

Jay and Carlos looked confused (and bored), Mal wasn't paying attention while she drew in her sketchbook, Evie had a disturbed look on her face.

Van was bored out of his mind. It was honestly a miracle he hadn't fallen asleep yet. Class on the Isle could be boring from time to time, but this was way worse.

"Yes, Evie," who had raised her hand.

"C: give it a bottle," she answered with a trying smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Correct!" Fairy Godmother applauded. "Again."

"You are on fire girl!" Carlos declared.

Van rolled his eyes.

"Carlos, just pick the one that doesn't sound evil, specifically the one your mother would never do," Van deadpanned.

Seriously, this guy was one of the smartest kids in school, and on the Isle. How was this so difficult for him?

"Point taken," he admitted.

He didn't know why he was acting this way. Maybe because this was the first morning he had gone without taking orders from his mother. Whatever it was, he was relieved to be away from her, even if only a short while.

Just then a girl with short hair and wearing a blue dress came into the study hall. She was carrying a clipboard and eyed each of the VK's fearfully as she headed towards her mother.

"Hello dear one!" the Headmistress greeted warmly.

"You need to sign off on an early dismissal for the coronation," she said while fearfully glancing back at the VK's.

Van internally groaned. He could understand the girls fear to a certain degree but that didn't mean he agreed with it. For starters, they literally hadn't done anything yet (barring the museum) so what was the point.

Carlos, on the other hand, was in awe of the angel that just walked in. He didn't know why but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was beautiful, so much more than any other girl he had seen on the Isle.

"Everyone remembers my daughter, Jane," Fairy Godmother introduced.

"Not really no," Van replied rather bluntly. "We haven't been introduced to many people in Auradon yet so."

Jane's eyes widened at the sight of Van, or more specifically, who he resembled. She knew Sora had a son but this couldn't be him, he couldn't be a VK, could he?

"I'm not Sora's son if that's what you're thinking," Van informed her, surprising the young fairy. "I admit we look alike, but my father is Vanitas. And before you ask yes, he also resembles Sora. Just as Roxas resembles Ventus."

"I-I see," Jane stammered, though it did make some sense to her. "Well, that's okay. Don't mind me. As you were."

"Maybe we'll see you later and we can get to know each other then!" Carlos exclaimed.

His outburst earned him several looks from his friends who were stunned at his abnormal behaviour. Carlos, for as long as they could remember, never had outbursts. He could scream for help when something or someone was coming after him but other than that nothing.

Jane was a little startled by the outburst. Hardly anyone wanted to know her, and here a new kid was trying.

"I-I-I mean, if you, you know want to that is," Carlos stammered, realizing his mistake.

He stared at the desk embarrassed, his face turning bright red.

' _I don't believe it,'_ Jay thought. He knew that look anywhere. It wasn't common on the Isle, but he knew one when he saw one. _'He's got a crush.'_

' _Well, this is a first,'_ Evie realized. _'Not sure if I'll be able to help with this one though.'_

As intrigued as she was with the offer, Jane couldn't deny she was a little suspicious. He was a VK after all. Despite this, she felt conflicted. She didn't want to say yes, but she didn't want to say no either.

"Maybe," was all she said before leaving. "As you were."

As she left, Carlos internally berated himself for the way he acted. He didn't know what came over him.

Van on the other hand was impressed. He didn't think Carlos had it in him.

Mal glanced at Jane as she left, a plan beginning to form within her mind.

"Ahem, let's continue," Fairy Godmother urged as she pointed towards the board. "You find a vial of poison. Do you A: put it in the King's Wine? B: paint it on an apple? Or C: turn it over to the proper authorities?"

Van wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. The class was boring in so many ways that it was starting to drive him insane. At Dragon Hall, there were a few classes he found boring but none as bad as this. The questions were stupid and the class, in general, was pointless. They knew how to be good it was the exact opposite of what they were taught on the Isle, mostly anyway. Some parents (like his and Evie's) taught them to be good but also not to let others push you around. This class and the way it was taught was just stupid in general. What was worse was that he would have to attend it five days a week, much to his chagrin.

' _Thank Hades they're in the morning,'_ Van thought. _'Better to get them done and out of the way.'_

Evie raised her hand again, though from her face it was apparent she was becoming annoyed with the questions. Jay and Carlos were fighting for who should answer. Van reluctantly raised his hand hoping that by taking part this awful excuse of a class would go by faster.

"Van," Fairy Godmother called.

"I'm gonna go with C since it's the closest one," he muttered. "But ideally it should be none of them."

The headmistress raised an eyebrow, both confused and curious.

"Would you care to explain that?" she asked politely.

Van sighed.

"For starters, who would leave a vial of poison out in the open? Like literally, who? I doubt anyone in Auradon would do that. Even then I would think about who is in the surrounding area and watching because for all we know someone could want us to pick it up and then get us into trouble. That's the problem with C because if kids from this school are nervous around us because of who our parents are then you can imagine how authority figures are going to react to us," Van explained. "The problems with the other two are one, I doubt any of us would be able to get near the King's wine since there's no definite time to spike it, and even then, he's heavily guarded. And two, we wouldn't paint poison on an apple because we don't know what type it is. For all we know it might not even be poison, and even if it is, it could be toxic to the touch so we wouldn't paint it."

Fairy Godmother was stunned into silence. Van made some very valid points about the situation. She didn't want to admit it, but the previous question may have been a little stupid.

"Those are valid points and I will take them into consideration," she informed him. "That reminds me. I meant to say this at the start but forgot. Van." The said boy raised an eyebrow at being addressed. Had he done something wrong? "The students from your year will be going on a field trip to the Universal Museum of Science and Technology shortly after this. While normally you'd need your parent's permission seeing as how you only arrived yesterday it's been decided you can go any way."

The others, particularly Carlos, perked up at this. This sounded like a different museum from the one they were at last night.

"Universal Museum of Science and Technology?" Van repeated. "What's that?"

"It's a museum located in Auradon City built sometime after Auradon was formed. It houses all technological and scientific advancements and creations made throughout history," she explained. "It's also funded by several major corporations. Stark Industries, Krei Tech Industries, and Hamada Tech Foundation."

Stark Industries he had vaguely heard about, it was a company run by Iron Man after all. Krei and Hamada groups he had heard about from Dr Callaghan. The scientist dislikes Krei but he seemed proud of Hiro and what he accomplished.

"The bus will be leaving twenty minutes after this," Fairy Godmother continued.

Van was surprised by the new development. The first day and already he was out exploring Auradon, but more so because it meant this would be the first interaction he had with his new classmates.

Van frowned at thinking of them like that, not out of malice, but because it was another reminder of how his life had changed in such a short amount of time.

He just hoped it didn't blow up in his face.

**Front Gate**

Van, with some assistance from Doug, arrived at the front gate where several students his age were waiting. Upon arriving, they all froze at the sight of him.

' _Oh for the love of. SERIOUSLY!'_ he mentally screamed.

This was just getting ridiculous. Yes, he looked like Sora, but so did his dad. How were they not aware of this? It was as if his relatives had never mentioned to anyone before, which made no sense considering how important a detail it was.

"Well, this is a surprise," a dark-haired boy looking up from his phone said. "You never told us you had a brother Kai."

Van had noticed him before but he should have. Standing to the far right was a boy with a similar appearance to Van but with several notable differences. Kai possessed blue eyes and auburn red hair. In addition, he wore bright red shorts, black and red sneakers, a bright red jacket, and a white t-shirt with a pink Paopu on it.

The boy was staring at him in disbelief, not that Van could entirely blame him. He would have done the same in his shoes.

Kai snapped out of his trance and glared at Van.

"I don't Vincent," he growled.

"Then who is he? A fanboy of your dad's?" Vincent shot back lazily.

Now that comment made Van angry.

"Like hell I am!" he snapped. "My father is Vanitas, not Sora."

The moment he said that there were several different reactions. Kai and a few others glared at him with evident hostility. Some gazed with curious eyes. A few looked bored. Ven, on the other hand, looked nervous.

"What's a villain kid doing here?" a voice sneered.

Van looked and saw a boy with tanned skin, brown eyes, long dark hair, wearing red and gold clothes.

"Fairy Godmother sent me here to go on this tour," he explained as politely as he could.

Their reactions were a couple of scowls and grunts of disapproval, mixed along with a couple of glares.

The boy from before sneered again.

"Seriously, what is wrong with that woman? She's supposed to look after students and make sure they come home safe, not put them in harm's way of dangerous villains," the boy continued.

"I'm not a villain," Van denied.

Sure he had grown up on the Isle but he didn't really consider himself a villain. Actually, he didn't consider most people on the Isle a villain, Mal included. Sure they did bad things like fighting and stealing but that was just to survive, and in cases like Mal and Jay, appease their parents. They weren't evil though.

"You're from the Isle of the Lost, which makes you a villain just like your parents," the boy continued.

"Especially your father," another boy scowled.

This boy was standing right next to Kai. He possessed short silver hair and blue eyes. For his attire, he was wearing a black hooded jacket with short sleeves kept open, dark jeans and white and yellow high-top boots. Underneath the jacket, he wore a white t-shirt with a yellow line going down the centre.

Van felt like he should know who he is but was too angry to actually care.

"What about my father?" he growled.

The atmosphere at that very moment was… tense to say the least. Students looked uncomfortable with the situation and were beginning to wonder if they should get a teacher.

The silver-haired boy scoffed. "What about him? He's a monster who brought chaos to more than one world with a bunch of monsters he created."

Van's anger continued to rise. These idiots didn't know anything about his father or what Xehanort put him through. He wasn't blind enough to say what he did was right but it wasn't fair to ignore the factors surrounding it. if they actually knew his story they wouldn't be running their mouths.

"That was over twenty years ago," Van defended. "He's changed since then."

Some gave him odd looks, but others gave him looks of disbelief.

"I seriously doubt it," the silver-haired boy scoffed. "People don't change."

"Villains especially," the first boy chimed in. "They're evil straight to their core and always will be. So don't even try to fool us, it won't work."

Van's blood was boiling. How dare they! How dare they judge his parents without knowing them!

Well, if they were going to act like this then so would he.

"I can't believe Fairy Godmother allowed someone like you to come here, or Prince Ben for that matter," the boy continued to insult. "What is wrong with them?"

"Gee, I don't know, maybe the same thing that's wrong with your personality. No wait, that can't be it. They're both really nice and considerate, whereas you're an obnoxious, arrogant, self-absorbed bastard who's only good for running his mouth!" Van snapped back.

The boy's face was visibly shocked at the insult. No one had ever talked back to him that way before.

The other students were the same. While some appeared stunned, others were either amused or impressed.

"Ooh! BURN!" one girl called.

She was standing to the left. She possessed dark skin, long curly black hair and brown eyes. Her attire consisted of a green t-shirt with rose patterns, dark denim jeans, and red sneakers. In addition, she wore a silver bracelet with a roller skate as a charm.

The students began to laugh at her comment while the student from before expression morphed into humiliation. He glared at Van seething. Ven was among those laughing though he was a bit quieter. He had never liked Khuno because of the way he treated him.

"How dare you!" Khuno snapped. "Do you know who I am?"

"No," Van said tiredly. "And after hearing you talk, I don't want to."

Khuno's glare intensified. He had never been so insulted in all his life.

This… peasant, from the Isle of the Lost no less, dared to mock him and thought he could just get away with it. Well, he would show him.

"It would seem you do not know how to act in front of royalty," he said condescendingly.

Several other royals present shared his view, however, there were some exceptions, one such being Princess Melody of Atlantica.

' _How to act in front of royalty huh, what about how royals themselves should act in public?'_ she mused. _'Because I know it isn't the way you are.'_

Melody disliked Khuno. She disliked a lot of the royals at Auradon Prep in general, her cousins (barring Arabella) included. Most were arrogant and believed themselves above others simply because of their births. She found it frustrating and just downright annoying. Royals were supposed to be polite and respectful to everyone, regardless of their status, not cruel and condescending.

"We don't really have royals on the Isle," Van stated.

"Clearly," Khuno spat. "Otherwise you would know when to give respect."

"Where I come from, respect is earned not given," Van retorted. "And you haven't done anything to deserve mine so just forget it, you pompous prince!"

Laughter arose from the students again, as did Khuno's anger. He was enraged that a boy from that trashy Isle dared to insult him, a prince, and continued to do so.

The other royals glared at Van for his blatant disrespect towards them. In their eyes, they didn't need to earn his respect because they already deserved it. They were the children of famed Kings and Queens, of heroes, and they deserved to be treated like it.

Melody was different. She eyed Van with curiosity. He was different from the other students. Most of them would be too scared to stand up to a royal but he wasn't even phased in the slightest.

"Okay, that's enough chattering," a new voice called. "Everybody line-up."

Van turned and saw a blonde man with a clipboard wearing glasses, a blue striped shirt, and brown pants and shoes.

"I take it you must be Van," the man said.

"Depends on whose asking," Van replied suspiciously.

The man in question raised an eyebrow at the response. It sounded like something his brother would say.

"Van, this is Mr Martin," Ven piped up. "He teaches math and physics around here. He's also the vice-principal."

"I also teach biology from time to time, as well as chemistry," the teacher explained. "Anyway, welcome to Auradon Prep. Fairy Godmother informed me you would be joining us."

"Thanks for having me, I guess," Van said quietly.

As far as first impressions went, this guy wasn't half bad. Or at least he didn't seem to be, though looks could be deceiving.

"And your fine with him joining us?" the silver-haired boy asked incredulously.

"Is there a problem Rikyu?" Mr Martin asked.

"He's villain kid," Rikyu protested. "One whose father aided in trying to destroy all the worlds and could summon monsters called Unversed. How do we know he won't do the same to us?"

Van scowled in annoyance. Today was just filling with new people for him to dislike. What a place Auradon was!

"For the second time, that was over twenty years ago," he argued. "He's moved on since then. Also, why on earth would I want to destroy the world? I have friends and family here. not to mention I can't even summon Unversed."

While some were surprised at that, others gazed at him with disbelief. Rikyu and Khuno both looked like they were about to object when a familiar voice cut in.

"Come on guys. Van really isn't that bad," Ven stated weakly, which earned him suspicious looks.

"And you would know this based off how many interactions with him?" the boy on his phone sarcastically responded.

"Well, we're roommates, so," Ven said quietly.

"WHAT?!" Rikyu and Kai shouted in outrage.

Ven shrunk back at his cousin's anger. He understood it was to do with their family history, including his fathers, with Vanitas, that didn't make it any better though.

"How could you share a room with him?" Rikyu interrogated with a sharp edge in his voice. "Did you forget what his dad did to yours, not to mention Kai's?"

"I-I-I didn't," Ven stammered nervously. "I-It wasn't."

Van couldn't help but frown at the way Ven was acting. He'd seen it on the Isle many times from different people, but he never expected to see it here in Auradon.

Ven's behaviour was… submissive. He didn't fight back, he didn't argue, he just took it and went along with what he was told.

Van wouldn't go so far as to call it cowardice, more of a weak will.

"He didn't really have much of a choice dumbass!" Van insulted.

"Language," Mr Martin chastised only to be promptly ignored by Van.

"He didn't pick me as his roommate, and I didn't pick him," he explained. "Hell, I didn't even know he was my roommate until I met him. So don't go bullying him for things he had no control over."

Ven was stunned at how Van stuck for him like that. No one had ever done that for him before.

While he didn't dislike Rikyu, his cousin could be a bit forceful at times, even if he meant well.

"And we're just supposed to believe you?" Kai asked with a condescending voice.

"Why would I lie?" Van asked genuinely confused.

"Why wouldn't you?" Kai retorted.

Well, the number of people he didn't like in Auradon had officially moved up to four. What a day this was turning out to be.

"Kai, Rikyu," Mr Martin warned. "Van isn't lying. Students don't have a say over who their roommate is. The decision is usually random, and in Ven's case since he didn't have a roommate Van was automatically put with him."

Teachers had expressed concern over placing Van with Ven due to the history between their fathers, especially Aqua. However, others like himself suggested they wait and see how they got along first. If it didn't work out, they could always move them to another room.

"He's right you know that is how it works," a familiar voice came in.

Van turned and saw it was Steve walking towards them smiling and carrying a bag.

The students started murmuring amongst themselves. They hadn't known Captain America would be joining them, not that they were complaining. Among heroes who taught at the school, he was one of the most famous. The Super Soldier, and former Avenger who fought against the Nazi Science Division Hydra, the Chitauri, Ultron, the armies of Thanos and Thanos himself. He was considered by many to be a living legend.

"Steve," the vice-principal greeted. "I'm glad you could join."

"No problem," Steve replied. "I heard you were looking for extra hands so I thought I'd help out. Is there anyone else coming along Cody?"

"The other two classes have already left with Genie, Mrs Beakerman, and Mrs Moon," Cody explained. "Mrs Fontaine had to finish writing some paperwork, so she'll be here shortly."

That made six teachers in total for the tour. It wasn't necessary to spare anymore because the museum staff would be taking the kids in groups and showing them around.

"I see. Shall we get on the bus then?" Steve asked.

"Let me do a role call to make sure everyone is here," Cody said as he took out a clipboard.

Then, as he called out each name, everyone answered yes confirming they were present.

"Aaron, Aria, Darren, Denzel, Dewey, Eliot, Flynn, Gabriela, Haru, Helena, Huey, Kai, Khuno, Louie, Marlene, Melody, Paxton, Phoenix, Primrose, Rikyu, Van, Ven, Vincent, Virgil, Webby."

Hearing a yes from everyone Cody was about to ask them to get on the bus when another teacher arrived.

From Van's perspective, she was very beautiful. She had medium brown skin, luscious raven-black hair tied back with a pink ribbon, an hourglass figure and striking emerald eyes. In addition, she wore a white shirt, purple cardigan jacket and trousers held by a black belt with a gold buckle, purple heels, a golden hoop earring on her left ear, and a golden anklet on her right ankle.

"Sorry I'm late," Mrs Fontaine apologised. "Were you waiting long?"

"Not that long Esmerelda," Cody answered. Van perked up at the name. "We just did a roll call. Everyone is here."

"So we're all set to go?" Cody nodded. "Good."

"Before we leave, allow me to introduce you to our newest student, Van," he indicated.

Upon seeing him Esmerelda's eyes widened. If not for the fact that she had seen his name on the register of Isle transfer students, she would have actually believed he was Sora's son. There were several differences in appearance that made her doubt it though. Van didn't share any similarities with Kairi or Sora (barring face and hairstyle) to be their son.

"Welcome to Auradon Prep Van," she politely greeted. "I hope we can get along."

"Oh, I have a feeling we'll get on very well," Van mused much to her surprise. "After all, you're probably the only person at this school who hates Frollo as much as I do."

Esmerelda was stunned to hear that man's name, though she did not miss what Van said either.

"You hate Frollo?" she asked with a hint of contempt in her voice.

Van's instantly expression darkened.

"He and I mutually despise one another," Van replied not even bothering to hide his hatred of the man.

He didn't elaborate any further than that, not that he needed to. Esmerelda could see how he felt in his eyes, it was the exact same look she had when Frollo was hunting her and her fellow gypsies in Paris decades ago. Whatever Frollo must have done to this boy, it certainly sparked an extreme hatred.

The other teachers and students could see it as well. Cody wondered if it was something like his and Zack's original relationship with Mr Moseby, Steve, however, could see it was much deeper than that.

"I could tell you about it, but then we'd be here for hours," Van said his expression having reverted to normal.

"Unfortunately, we don't have time for that," Cody intervened checking his watch. "We need to get moving." He turned to address the students. "Everyone on the bus!"

One by one, the students got on the bus with Van eventually following. The teachers watched each of them get on, though Esmerelda kept an eye on Van. Naturally, she was curious as to what the man who tried to kill her and Quasimodo did to the young boy to make him hate him the same way she did.

On the bus, Van sat on his own. He had been tempted to sit next to Ven but Rikyu sat beside him before he could and sent glares his way. The remaining students appeared reluctant to even go near him, much to his frustration, so he sat on his own. It would be a long time before they got used to him he could tell. Steve seemed to be aware of this as well because he was giving him a look of sympathy.

"Is this seat taken?" someone asked.

Van looked up and saw it was the girl who yelled burn from before.

"Uh, no," he responded a little surprised that someone wanted to sit with him. "Go ahead."

"Thanks," the girl responded before sitting. "I didn't really feel like sitting by myself or any of the others."

"Why not?" Van couldn't help but ask.

The girl shrugged. "I'm not the most popular student. Well, that and I'd rather sit with the guy who made Khuno look like an idiot."

Van raised an eyebrow not expecting a response like that.

"You seem surprised," the girl pointed out.

"A little," Van admitted. "I thought everyone in Auradon was supposed to be all happy and getting along and all that other goody-goody guy stuff."

"Ha," the girl snorted. "Hardly. Do you get along with everyone where you're from?"

Van released a chuckle. He was beginning to like this girl.

"I guess not. I've only heard stories about Auradon and some of its people," Van explained. "Of course, it's hard to say when you've only lived in one place your entire life."

The girl's expression morphed into one of curiosity.

"What's it like?" she asked. "The Isle of the Lost I mean. There isn't much about it online and there aren't that many books about it either."

Van was a little, but not entirely, surprised at the level of information about the Isle here in Auradon. The Auradonians, with the exception of Ben it seemed, didn't want anything to do with the Isle. They never mentioned it in their news, they didn't send over proper food and drink or technology only their garbage, and they never invested any time in helping improve the Isle. It occurred to Van that they felt the villains deserved this sort of treatment for their past crimes as if death wasn't enough for them. They must have been aware of what was going on there though. Yen Sid sent monthly reports and letters to the King, and Aerith as the head doctor kept a record of who was born. Even if they wanted nothing to do with the Isle, they must have kept tabs to make sure nothing serious was happening. At least, serious in a way that could affect them. _The Incident_ was proof enough for that.

"Very different," Van responded. "There aren't as many cars, it's not as green or clean, and the air is less fresh."

The girl frowned having expected more than that. She was patient though, at least she could be.

"Not to sound rude but, who are you?" he asked. "I heard names called out but didn't keep track."

"Gabriela Duncan," the girl introduced. "That's a bit of a mouthful though, so call me Gabby. Everyone else does."

"Nice to meet you Gabby. I don't think I need an introduction," Van replied.

"No, you certainly don't. Your performance earlier was more than enough," she stated. "There aren't many around here who would tell the royals to their faces exactly what sort of person they are."

Van smirked. Gabby had sass, he liked that. He got the feeling that if she and Celia ever met, they would get along great.

"Some aren't so bad," Gabby continued. "But a lot of them act like they're better than everyone. Case point, Khuno, Aria, and Aaron in this class. Helena, Vincent, and Eliot are more neutral. Melody and Flynn are nice to everyone."

"Who are their parents just out of curiosity?" Van asked.

"Khuno is the son of Emperor Kuzco, Aria is one of King Triton's granddaughters, Aaron is the son of Apollo, Helena is the daughter of Hephaestus, Vincent is the son of Vanellope von Schweetz, Eliot is the son of Elsa and Jack Frost, Melody is the daughter of Queen Ariel and King Eric, Flynn is the son of Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene," Gabby listed off.

Van registered each of the names in his head. Kuzco he had vaguely heard about from Zevon. Ariel, Eric, and Triton he had heard Ursula (another person who didn't like him because he resembled Sora) rant about. Apollo and Hephaestus he knew were Gods from Hadie. Vanellope he hadn't heard of. While he didn't know much about Jack Frost he had heard a great deal about Elsa from Hans. From what he had gathered she was a powerful ice mage who could control all forms of snow and ice.

"The worst royal at Auradon Prep, in general, would be Chad Charming, Cinderella's son," Gabby lamented. "I'm not even joking. He's lazy, sexist, and expects everyone to show him respect."

"Well, then he and I are not going to get along," Van declared rather bluntly.

"I figured as much," Gabby admitted.

Silence came between them and their classmates as Cody got up to speak.

"At the museum, you'll all be split up into groups of five, with a member of staff to guide you," he explained while holding up a hat with paper. "To decide what group you'll be part of, you will each draw a number from this hat. Whichever number you draw is the group you are part of."

Van picked out the number five, which just so happened to be the same as Gabby's, much to his relief. He did not want to be with someone like Khuno or Rikyu. Then Cody called out his number again and he saw the other members of his group were Huey Duck, Eliot, and Haru.

Haru had messy black hair with violet highlights and brown eyes. He wore a grey hoodie, purple t-shirt, brown trousers, and blue sneakers.

Eliot greatly resembled his father. He owned short white hair and blue eyes. His attire consisted of a dark blue hoodie, ice blue trousers, and white sneakers.

Huey simply wore a red cap and t-shirt. His appearance freaked Van out to a degree. Not that he had anything against ducks, Huey just reminded him of Flintheart Glomgold from the Isle. That duck was one of the most annoying people Van knew because he was always constantly raving about killing Scrooge McDuck. It annoyed everyone on the Isle.

Eyeing his new group, Van smirked.

"Maybe today won't be so bad after all," he murmured.

Then the bus started and his face turned pale. He still hadn't gotten over his first experience with vehicles yesterday, and he doubted today would any better.

"I take it back. It's gonna be a terrible day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. Well, what did you think of that?
> 
> This chapter introduced some of Van's new classmates and potential friends and enemies. It also introduced Gabriella who was first seen in the prologue. As some of you may have noticed her last name is Duncan making her Gabe Duncan (from Good Luck Charlie) and Lauren Dabney's daughter. I wanted to include a Disney Channel Show character's child as one of Van's friends and Gabe seemed like the perfect choice considering his background as a troublemaker.
> 
> The children of Sora and Riku I felt weer the ideal antagonists for Van because of their family history. The son of Emperor Kuzco as well due to the way he acted in his own movie.
> 
> A couple more teachers were introduced as well.
> 
> Mrs Moon is Ally from Austin and Ally who teaches music. Mrs Beakerman is Harper from Wizards of Waverly Place who teaches Grammar. Genie from Aladdin teaches Geography. Esmerelda from the Hunchback of Notre Dame teaches French.
> 
> Cody Martin from the Suite Life of Zack and Cody is the Vice-Principal and a maths and physics teacher. Honestly, he felt like the ideal choice because of how passionate he was about school and learning.
> 
> More characters from the MCU and Disney Channel will be appearing in the future so stay tuned.
> 
> Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was busy with college and didn't have time for anything else. I want to continue this fic though. I have plans for it and so many plotlines for different characters.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. Please review.


	8. The Field Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I have rewritten some of the story to match my current plan for it. You may need to reread the chapters to see the differences. The songs are gone because I decided I didn't want them, a certain event has been referenced that is significant to the plot, and Mals encounter with the Maleficent statue is much different to the original.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than OC's

The bus ride lasted less than an hour, but for Van, it felt much longer. He still wasn't used to vehicles yet, and he wasn't sure he would get used to them, but the entire time he struggled not to vomit. The feeling wasn't as bad as when he was in the limo but bad enough.

Unwilling to let his teachers and classmates see him in such a weak state he pretended to be asleep the entire trip. Unbeknownst to him, two individuals had noticed.

Once the bus stopped Van was one of the first off. Taking in the air, he exhaled in relief. Never had he been so grateful to stop something before now. Having grown up on the Isle, Van had a higher tolerance for pain than most people. Motion sickness on the other hand was something entirely new to him. Public transport wasn't exactly a thing on the Isle (barring Cruella's car) and anywhere he needed or wanted to be he went by foot.

Having recovered his senses, Van took a minute to take in the area around him. To say he was amazed was an understatement. The city he was standing in was huge. There were roads with cars (the kind he had only heard about in stories) driving down, buildings so big they reached clouds, well-developed structures, benches, and people dressed in the sort of clothes Dizzy and Evie would gush over.

In one of the rare moments of his life, Van felt small.

He lived on an island with small homes and shops. The largest building, he was in was the Forbidden Fortress (Maleficent's castle) when he and the others went after the Dragon's Eye.

This, this was something else entirely. For the first time, Van realized how big the truly world was. His parents had always told him about other worlds and what they were like, but he hadn't paid much heed at the time because he never thought he would experience them.

Especially after… _that_.

Van really didn't want to think about _that_ at a time like this but sometimes he couldn't help it. It was one of the real reasons he was so hesitant to come to Auradon in the first place.

"You alright Van?" Steve called snapping him back to reality.

"I'm fine," he quickly replied. "Just surprised is all. I've never seen buildings like these before."

Steve raised an eyebrow. He didn't know much about the Isle's infrastructure but from Van's words, it couldn't have been more two to three stories high.

However, he did not want to pressure Van so he let it slide.

"You ready to go in?" Steve asked.

"I guess," Van shrugged. "Why? Is something gonna attack us when we go in?"

Gabby smirked at his sarcasm. She was liking Van more by the minute.

"If you qualify an employee assaulting us with a boring lecture as an attack, then yeah, we are," Eliot answered in a cold voice.

Some of the other students shot Eliot uneasy looks, while others glared, which Van found incredibly unusual. Eliot scowled.

Every time he says anything, they look at him that way. No matter what he did, they couldn't get over the _accident_ , even though it was years ago.

"Perfect!" Van responded sarcastically. "As if one wasn't enough already today. Whatever. Are we going in or not?"

"Just as soon as I can find…aah, there they are," Cody answered as he saw several other groups of children and teachers (whom Van assumed to be the ones mentioned before).

The next thing that happened was Cody talking it out with some of the other teachers as they agreed to divide up look after the different groups of students. There were seventy-five students in total for this tour, which is why the museum staff would be assisting them.

While they were doing that Van took a moment to examine the other students. They didn't appear very threatening, at least to him, though looks could be deceiving. Some of them had animal features though Van wasn't particularly bothered by that since it was not uncommon on the Isle.

Others had more noticeable features that were similar to Hadie and Mal. Demigods perhaps. He would find out later.

It was also possible that some of them were part alien as well, though he had no way of knowing without asking. And given how everyone else reacted to him, it was unlikely they would speak with a VK.

He noticed there were some adults, most likely parents, accompanying them, not that Van really cared.

Van then glanced at the building they were entering. It was certainly bigger than the other museum.

Decorated in red with spaceships and robots as mural's, a large golden globe at the centre turning slowly as fountain water shot up, several trees styled to resemble specific mechanical designs, and rows of flowers Van had never seen before.

Auradon was something he would give them that.

"Okay, everyone are we ready to go in?" His answer was a chorus of yes'. "Remember once we go inside, we'll split into our groups which will be lead by one of the teachers or parents who have graciously given their time to help us today and guided by one of the museum staff. Any questions?" Nobody answered. "Perfect. Without further ado, let's head inside."

**Inside the museum**

The interior of the museum was even larger than the outside and decorated in a similar fashion.

At the reception, there were several signs and routes to different exhibits. Too many for him to count.

Once inside they were greeted by the staff and they split into their groups. Much to Van's surprise (and relief), Steve was the teacher overseeing his group. Speaking of which, they were all reacting to the situation in different ways.

Huey was excited and has a small book out as though he wanted to record everything; Haru looked a little interested but otherwise kept his head down; Gabby looked bored; and Elliot looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

At the very least, they had forgotten about Van or just didn't care which worked out well for him.

Their guide was a young woman with dark shoulder-length red hair, topaz eyes, beige skin, dressed in a red uniform and heels. Her name Allison was plastered across her name tag.

After separating from everyone else Allison brought them towards the Beginnings of Technology section.

"Over the year, technology has undergone several developments to get where it is now," Allison explained. "Several of which were created by the late Anthony Stark, more commonly known as Iron Man." A brief wave of sadness overcame Steve as his deceased friend's name was mentioned. "Others include Phineas and Ferb Flynn, Varian, Haru Hamada, and so on."

Haru didn't react upon hearing his father's name, not that he needed to. He knew all of this already.

Van recognized the names from school. Aside from listening to villains rant about their enemies, every child on the Isle of the Lost was taught the history of their parents, their wrongdoings, and their enemies. Some had interested Van, others hadn't. He knew about these heroes from Carlos and Hadies brothers who admired their genius.

' _I would be shocked if Carlos didn't fanboy about this,'_ Van internally admitted.

Allison continued to lecture them while they just took in all the information. Then they came to the topic of the infinity stones and how they had been used.

"These were powerful relics that predated the universe itself. The first time they were used by us was during World War 2," Allison stated. "They were used by Hydra. Would anyone like to explain who they are?"

Huey started looking through his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook to properly answer. Unfortunately, Van beat him to it.

"Hydra was a cult established millennia ago by followers of the Inhuman Hive who had been banished to another world called Maveth with the sole purpose of bringing him back. Throughout the centuries they evolved by taking on many forms to match the current society."

"However, during World War 2 they became public when they aligned with Nazi Germany as their science division. Led by Johann Schmidt, aka Red Skull, and assisted by Arnim Zola, Hydra created weapons for the Nazis to use against the Allies. Halfway through the war, Schmidt discovered the Tesseract, which contained the Space Stone, and used its power to craft far deadlier weapons that could vaporize his enemies with a single blast. With this in hand, he separated his faction from the Nazis and focused solely on his own plans for world domination, abandoning Hydra's true purpose in the process."

"Hydra was a driving force in the war and became the greatest threat to the Allies. For their endgame, Schmidt attempted to bomb the US with Tesseract-powered nuclear bombs, only to be defeated by Captain America."

"Despite this setback, Hydra was never truly defeated. They continued to operate within SHIELD, expanding their influence and control over other countries and instigating several wars. They planned an uprising within SHIELD using Project Insight which would enable them to eliminate anyone considered a threat to their agenda, until they were once again thwarted by Captain America, alongside Black Widow, Falcon, Nick Fury, and Maria Hill. After this, a war between the remaining factions of SHIELD and Hydra erupted with SHIELD eventually emerging victorious."

"Furthermore, the other Hydra led by Gideon Malick finally succeeded in bringing back Hive, using Grant Ward as a host, who immediately set out to rally Inhumans to his cause and control the world, only to be defeated when another Inhuman by the name of Lincoln Campbell sacrificed his life to blow himself and Hive in outer space."

"Other major encounters with Hydra include Wolfgang Von Strucker in Sokovia and General Hale who was the final leader of Hydra. However, they were dealt with by the Avengers and SHIELD."

"Despite constant defeat and setbacks, Hydra always came back with something new. As their motor goes, "cut off one head two more shall grow back", which believe me is very accurate."

"And that is Hydra in a nutshell," Van finished his explanation. "Does that answer your question Miss?"

The reaction he received was complete, utter silence.

Everyone's expression was shocked with their mouths hanging wide open. Huey even dropped his notebook.

Allison was overwhelmed. She hadn't expected such a detailed explanation. None of them had.

Steve was the most surprised. He assumed Van had heard of Hydra on the Isle but he hadn't expected him to know so much about them.

Van, who had been the object of staring two days in a row, once again felt uncomfortable. The people from Auradon were so weird. He does nothing they stare at him; he says something they stare at him. What kind of world were they living in?

"How do you know that much?" Gabby asked dumbfounded.

"Malick is a history teacher at Dragon Hall," Van shrugged nonchalantly. "And my mom was pretty insistent about me paying attention in school, so."

There were a couple of curious thoughts about his mother, but more about the school Van mentioned. Was it the only one or were there others?

"Well, you have pretty much explained everything," Allison said in a quiet voice. "Unless anyone has any questions, we will be moving on."

"Actually, I've got one," Van announced much to everyone's surprise. "Schmidt, was he called Red Skull because of a symbol he wore or was his skull actually red?"

The question threw most of them off but amused Steve and Gabby. Gabby because it was the sort of thing she would ask, and Steve because it was not the first time that question had come up. There were not that many pictures of Schmidt, and even fewer with his true face.

"His skull was not red," Steve clarified. "After acquiring Erskine's super-soldier serum, he injected himself with it. Unfortunately, the serum was incomplete, and his face became red and deformed as a result. Even still, it enhanced him."

Van raised an eyebrow. It wasn't what he was expecting but was satisfied nonetheless.

"His physical abilities?" Huey asked having picked up his book.

"Or his ego?" Gabby joked.

"Both," Steve stated bluntly.

Before they could continue the conversation, Allisson ushered them to move on. They were on a tight schedule and they needed to stick to that.

They continued on and came to a section called the Hall of Iron Man.

It had suits models created by Tony Stark himself ranging from the first suit he made when held captive by the ten rings, the Mark 1, and Mark LXXXV.

There was even a model of the arc reactor Stark used as part of his suit and to sustain his life after the incident with the Ten Rings that left shrapnel in his heart.

Van had to admit he was impressed. To think one man could do all of this by himself. It was a wonder why he wasn't brought back.

Personally, he had always found it strange how the heroes only revived the villains and none of their friends or family. They got away the first one, why not the second?

Then again, if they had Hades would have been downright furious. Hadies father had… _opinions_ about Auradon raising the dead. Very vocal opinions.

As he continued to look around while listening to Allisson, from the corner of his eye Van noticed Steve staring at one of the suits with a solemn expression.

' _That's right, they were both Avengers and friends,'_ he realized.

He knew some of Steve's history from Bucky and his wife. Having been frozen and brought into a time that wasn't his, Captain America had lost quite a few people throughout his life, even in the present.

Van didn't really understand the first part, but losing someone close to you, he understood that very well, more than he would have liked to.

Everyone from the Isle knew.

**Other parts of the museum**

Their visit to the Hall of Iron Man ended.

The section afterwards belonged to tech created by villains who were enemies of Iron Man, all of whom Van was familiar with. He could only imagine the ranting Obadiah Stane or Justin Hammer would do if they were here.

He was surprised to see the Vulture's wings, used by Liz's father Adrian Toomes himself. He was more of an enemy to Spider-Man but he assumed his hatred of the man earned him a place there.

Then there was Ultron which Van had only ever heard about but never seen. Then again you couldn't exactly bring back a robot (with magic). Most villain souls were taken out of Tartarus and placed on the Isle, while mechanical villains were not. If machines did have souls, and he wasn't saying they didn't, but if they did then they likely went somewhere else.

Following that they passed through the SHIELD section which had creations ranging from some of their weapons, quinjets, and devices created by none other than lead scientists Jemma Simmons and Leopold Fitz.

The stuff he was were the sort of things that would leave Carlos and a few others drooling.

However, what came next unnerved Van a little.

It was the part where Holden Radcliffe's designs came up. Despite his treachery, the scientist had worked with SHIELD enough to have his work shown in the museum, though whether he was aware of it or not he did not know. On the Isle, Radcliffe rarely if ever talked about his life before, aside from Fitz that is.

"These are Life Model Decoys, or more commonly known, LMD's," the guide explained. "Dr Radcliffe created many in his time while working alongside Anton Ivanov, leader the Watchdogs. These were meant to silently infiltrate and take over SHIELD by taking down several members and locking them away in the Framework, a digital world created by Radcliffe. His most notable creation was this." Van's eyes widened when he saw her. "It was called,"

"Agnes," Van blurted out, earning looks from everyone.

Allisson raised an eyebrow.

"Um, no," she corrected. "Its name was AIDA. It stands for,"

"Artificial Intelligent Digital Assistant," Van summarized. "I know what AIDA is, but she really looks like Radcliffes wife Agnes."

Van knew the woman personally. She was a teacher at Dragon Hall who taught Art, making her Mal's favourite. And right now, he was staring at an exact lookalike.

"Hmm, historically it's been reported that he modelled her after his girlfriend who was dying of cancer at the time," Huey pointed out.

Now that Van had not known.

"Cancer? She really had that?" he was taken back by the new information.

"Does she not now?" Gabby asked sounding surprised.

"I seriously doubt since it's been twenty-five years," Van explained. "I don't know all the details, but apparently when the villains were revived most were restored to full physical health. Any illnesses or physical disabilities they had were mended, and many had youth restored to them. Mental illnesses remained though."

The others were surprised at this new knowledge, with Huey planning to add it to his guidebook later. They didn't know much about what happened after the Isle was first formed. Steve was particularly intrigued because he had not heard anything from Bucky after he moved there.

"Still, I can't believe he made her look like Agnes," Van murmured still unnerved by what he was seeing.

"He never mentioned that before?" Steve questioned.

Van waved his head in denial.

"Unlike other machines or programs, like Ultron and the MCP, AIDA is hardly ever discussed," he admitted. "I don't know why though."

If he had to guess, AIDA was a personal conflict for Radcliffe. She was his creation, only to later betray and kill him. Van never felt like prying into a person's demons unless he was close to them, so he let Holden contend with his own. Maybe her looking like Agnes was a reason because when he died it was by someone with the face of the woman he loved.

He wasn't in the mood to question it. Fortunately, neither was anyone else as the guide motioned them to continue.

**Big Hero 6 Section**

Now they were in the Big Hero 6 area with devices used by retired superhero team. Such as:

Honey Lemon's Chem-Purse.

Go Go's Electromagnetic Discs.

Wasabi's Plasma Blades.

Fred's Monster Suit.

Then there were statues of the heroes themselves in full armour. There was a statue of another man as well named Tadashi Hamada as he stood between Hiro and the health robot Baymax. He wasn't an official member, but he did create Baymax which earned him a spot in this museum.

Van knew quite a bit about this group. Robert Callaghan lived on the Isle along with everyone else. He was a science teacher, engineer, and father. Unlike most villains, he didn't rant about his past failures or enemies. In fact, he held respect for them and accepted his life as it was. Many students, even the ones who didn't like him, respected him for this. He was also respected by other Isle villains for having restored some electricity to the Isle.

While teaching he would occasionally reference them. It ranged from their personalities to their scientific prowess and finally their deeds. There were very few villains who would hold their enemies in such high regard, but he was one of them. Then again, he had been their teacher at one point so it was only natural.

"Now you all know who this is," Allison announced bringing Van back to reality. "But would anyone like to talk about him."

"It's Baymax," Haru spoke in a soft quiet voice. "Personal healthcare companion designed for providing healthcare for all those who may require it. Equipped with information on over ten thousand medical procedures, including surgical, he is the ultimate doctor. He possesses various other abilities that make him suitable for hero duty."

Van raised an eyebrow. Baymax sounded like a robot version of Aerith and his mother, but way more. Maybe he was just as strict and chastising as them.

"Correct Haru," Allisson congratulated. "This is not the original Baymax, however, it still holds the programs and functions belonging to the original. For example."

She pinched herself hard and let out a small cry of pain. Almost instantly, the robot activated when it heard Allisson yelp.

"Hello. I am Baymax," the robot greeted with a wave. "Your personal healthcare companion. I was alerted to sounds of distress and am here to provide medical assistance." Baymax's chest lit up with several faces of different expressions and colours visible. "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

"Physical or mental?" Elliot responded in a sarcastic tone.

Baymax briefly took notice of the Ice Prince before moving on to scanning Allisson and confirmed there was nothing wrong with her aside from mild skin irritation.

Enthralled by the event, Huey and Gabby asked him to scan them next to which Baymax obliged. However, he took this as being requested to scan everyone.

After confirming there was nothing wrong with Huey and Gabby, Baymax moved onto Haru (who was quiet throughout the ordeal), Elliot (who was annoyed), and Steve (who was amused), Baymax found no problems. Then he moved on to Van (who didn't really care).

"Scan complete!" Baymax declared. An image of Van's body appeared. "You have several scars and bruises over your body. Causes range from blunt force, impacts with the ground, and weapons, most likely knives with the possibility of a whip. Additionally, you have a fractured rib on you right side. Recommended procedures include Silicone gels, ice packets, and extensive periods of rest without exercise."

The silence was… deafening.

Everyone withing Van's group was staring at him in utter horror and disbelief.

Steve was the most shocked. If Van was like that this morning then… that exercise, the race.

' _Oh God! What have I done?!'_ Steve lamented. _'I may have made it worse.'_

"Alisson, could you take the others on ahead?" Steve requested. "I need to take Van to a hospital."

"S-Sure," the guide stammered still stunned.

None of the other students argued. They were still staring at Van with disbelieving expressions.

"Hold on a minute," Van protested. "Why do I need to go to a hospital? It's not that bad."

"Broken bones are bad," Steve replied sternly. "And so is having multiple wounds like yours. If they aren't treated properly, they could become quite serious."

"They were treated," Van countered. "A short while before I came here. Not that it makes any difference since there will just be new ones the next day."

Steve's eyes widened. He had a really bad feeling about this but he needed to know.

"Why is that?" he reluctantly asked.

This time it was Van who shot a look of disbelief.

"Are you kidding me!? Where do you think I grew up?" he asked incredulously. "Violence is a part of everyday life on the Isle of the Lost. Villains fight for territory, as a sport, or just as part of an argument. It is normal, for them and for me."

Steve really wanted Van to be lying, but even then, it was clear he wasn't.

"I still need to," Steve started.

"I'm not going to a hospital and that's final," Van defiantly declared. "If I'm not complaining about it, what's the point?"

Steve didn't care about that. He needed to get Van treatment.

"How are you not in pain?" Huey blurted out. "Most individuals are usually bothered by it."

"I had a rough and volatile childhood. Pain is something I got used to, and over time I learned to control it," he explained.

That explanation greatly disturbed everyone and made them think Van should see a therapist.

"Um, Mr Rogers," Gabby called. "If it's that big of an issue, why not just bring him to the school nurse when we get back? The tour is almost over and its nearly time for lunch. So why bother?"

Steve thought hard about it. Gabriella had a point; they would be returning soon so Van could get checked then. That didn't mean he was comfortable with the idea.

"Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll meet with this nurse when we get back," Van said. "But I am not, repeat not, going to a hospital. No matter what you say or do."

"He's Captain America you Sora cosplayer," Elliot said coolly. "I'm pretty sure he could drag there kicking and screaming."

"The only one who'll be screaming is him Ice boy," Van retorted with as much ice.

He and Elliot glared at each other as if daring the other to lash out first.

Steve ignored their little exchange and focused on the issue at hand. Maybe it would be better to talk about this with the other teachers.

"Fine," he said finally grabbing everyone's attention. "If we continue, when we get back you are stopping by the Nurse's Office no questions asked. Is that understood Van?"

"Yes, can we move on now?" Van begged.

He'd gotten sick of this conversation and wanted to move on. Fortunately for him, everyone else obliged.

**Cafeteria**

The tour continued on through several more exhibits ranging from Asgardian technology, and the legacy of Thanos which held a model Infinity Gauntlet and stones.

Students chatted amongst themselves. However, a few students preferred to sit away from the group.

Haru and Elliot were eating together. Neither of them was the most social of their classmates and preferred to sit in a quiet area. They didn't talk but they didn't argue either. It was an unspoken agreement between the two of them, which they were both grateful for.

Huey was chatting with his brothers and Webby with each exchanging stories.

Van had planned to sit alone since he didn't think anyone would want him sitting with them. The glares he received from some of the students were proof enough, while some of the parents just looked nervous. Others ignored him.

That said, he was surprised when someone did sit down with him. And it was his companion from the bus.

"Mind if I sit here?" Gabby asked.

"I don't own the place," Van retorted.

"What if you did?" she smirked. "Would you send me away?"

"Depends on how annoying I would find you," he smirked back.

"Am I annoying?" Gabby asked mockingly.

"Compared to the other students, no," he replied. "You are much more likeable than they are."

"Thank God!" Gabby exhaled. "If you think some of them are bad now, wait until you have to spend school with them."

"Why did someone put a stick up their ass?" Van asked mockingly.

"Uh-huh," Gabby confirmed. "A huge one, all the way in."

Van started laughing with Gabby joining in. It was official. He liked this girl.

Meanwhile, the teachers were having their own discussion about the trip. They talked about how interesting it was and some events that happened. Genie was a little tired from dealing with some of the more energetic students, but otherwise, he was alright.

"So, Steve, how was your group?" Harper inquired. "Anything exciting happen?"

"What about the new student? What is he like?" Genie added on. "A handful like the others?"

Steve hesitated for a minute. He knew how his colleagues would react, but even then, they needed to know.

"He's a good kid," Steve said softly. "However, during the tour, something happened. Van didn't do anything more it was something revealed about him."

Steve explained about the incident with Baymax and Van's injuries. He then told them about the things Van said.

As expected, they were horrified. Surprisingly, they kept their voices down.

"Mon Dieu!" Esmerelda murmured.

"I don't believe it," Genie muttered. "And he was allowed go on this thing. What was Fairy Godmother thinking?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Cody said quickly. "Knowing her, I doubt she would have let Van come if she knew."

"How could she not know? Didn't he go through a medical test when he arrived?" Ally asked uncertainly.

A standard procedure at Auradon Prep when a new student came in was to do a health check just to make sure that we're perfectly healthy.

"I don't they did," Steve admitted. "Van told me this morning that when they arrived, they were given a tour by Ben and Audrey and then left to their dorms for school the next day."

"Wait, they came yesterday?" Harper exclaimed. "And already they are in school? Why weren't they brought a few days before and given time to adapt first? Won't that overwhelm them?"

It seemed like a logical course of action. These were kids who had never known anywhere but the Isle. Being brought to a new land out of the bloom would certainly throw them off balance.

"Good question," Cody admitted. "I'll bring it up with Fairy Godmother later."

Esmerelda was in deep thought. From Van's words, this was common on the Isle, not just for him but everyone. Would that mean the other transfers have wounds?

Despite being in their history books, and having volunteers living there, none of them actually knew a lot about the Isle of the Lost. Many individuals wanted to forget the villains existed and be done with it but others like her fellow teachers who had never experienced the same horrors were curious.

Well, maybe not never. Thanos had impacted them all, even if they never met him.

**Auradon Prep two hours later**

The field trip ended and everyone returned safely. For Van, it had been utter hell just not to throw up on the bus. The fact that he had eaten didn't help either.

Still, the trip had been interesting. He also enjoyed talking with Gabby which was something.

The minute they got back Steve wasted no time in bringing him to the Nurse's Office.

The nurse in question was a woman named Claire Temple who was utterly horrified at the wounds on Van's body. Steve was the same because hearing about them and then seeing them were two very different things.

What surprised him and Claire though was how well-developed Van's muscles were. He had the physique of a six-pack which was unusual for someone his age. From Steve's perspective, it was quite clear that Van was well trained.

"Okay, I am writing you a note to excuse you from classes tomorrow," Claire announced. "Take my advice and rest. Don't overexert yourself or you will end back up here."

"You sound just like Aerith," Van commented.

"I don't know if that's a compliment or insult but I'll take it," Claire retorted. "Get some rest. If you are feeling worse come back and I'll help you as best I can."

Van left the office and was escorted by Steve to his room. After saying thank you, the two parted ways.

Laying in bed, Van just decided to rest. Taking it easy every now and then wasn't so wrong.

**With others**

Meanwhile, the people from Van's group were resting themselves.

As they did they thought about their new classmate and formed their own opinions of him.

Elliot though Van was an insufferable asshole just like the rest, though he did give him points for insulting them since Elliot didn't like them either.

Haru was a little intrigued by Van but was disturbed by his injuries. He doubted they would be talking in the future though.

Huey was curious about Van and the environment he grew up in. there weren't many documents about the Isle of the Lost so having a resident who knew it personally was a great thing.

Gabby definitely liked Van. She had only known him a short while and already she believed he was better than half the students. It would be fun getting to know him even more while he was here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. Well, what did you think of that?
> 
> Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've just been so busy with college and I will be busy again.
> 
> This chapter gave you a bit more on certain characters Van will know throughout the story. I also wanted to show an intelligent side to him rather than just aggressive.
> 
> For those of you wondering, the "Aerith" mentioned is Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII. She is on the Isle as a volunteer.
> 
> Next chapter will show the same day but from the other VK's perspective.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it. Please review!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? Van was a character I submitted to someone a long time ago but that story was cancelled. So, I decided make my own story involving him. While this will follow along the timeline of the first movie there will be multiple differences because this is an AU after all.
> 
> If you noticed Rotten to the Core involved lines from the remix. Why I changed Evie's well, her relationship with her parents is quite different than the movie. Her mother is Regina Mills from OUAT, making her Henry's foster sister. Her father, he won't be revealed for a while. The same could be said about Carlos' father and Van's mother. And believe me, they will surprise you.
> 
> This story will involve element from Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Once Upon a Time.


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